Breaking News: Trump Fires National Labor Relations Board General Counsel and Board Member

By Jake Fulcher and Nick Golding

On January 27, 2025, President Donald Trump fired Jennifer Abruzzo, the pro-labor general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). During her tenure, Abruzzo pushed forward numerous employee-friendly decisions that challenged, and in some instances overturned, previously settled labor law in favor of workers. Abruzzo’s dismissal was expected and mirrors the firing of former general counsel Peter Robb by President Biden on Inauguration Day in 2021.

In a more surprising move, on January 27 Trump also terminated Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox. Unlike the firing of a general counsel, which federal courts have previously held lawful, Wilcox’s termination could potentially lead to legal challenges. Wilcox, whose term was set to end in August 2028, has already announced that she will be seeking all legal avenues to challenge her termination.

In the meantime, the ousting of Wilcox leaves the NLRB with only two acting members. For the time being, the NLRB will be unable to issue any future decisions until a new member is appointed to meet the minimum three member quorum. Any new members appointed by Trump are expected to be pro-management and will likely work to roll back the changes to established labor law adopted by the NLRB during President Biden’s term.

For more information on this or any related topic, please contact Jake Fulcher, Nick Golding, or any of the KDDK Labor and Employment Law professionals.

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