TOPEKA, KAN. ----- Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt this week asked the U.S. Supreme Court to invalidate the appointments of three members of the National Labor Relations Board, which were made without confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Schmidt, along with 16 other state attorneys general, filed a brief with the Court, urging it to invalidate the appointments.
President Barack Obama made the appointments to the NLRB by recess appointment, even though the Senate was still periodically meeting when the appointments were made.
"The Constitution gives the states the right to have our voices heard in the selection of presidential nominees through the advice and consent of our elected representatives in the U.S. Senate," Schmidt said. "By unilaterally declaring the Senate to be in recess, the president silenced the states' voices in selecting members to a board whose regulations significantly affect the economy of every state, including Kansas."
The case is NLRB v. Noel Canning. Oral argument in the case is set for January 13, 2014. This is the 14th Supreme Court case in which Kansas has been involved during this term, which began in October and is expected to run through June.
