Supreme Court rejects bid to nix labor board ruling after decision on Obama appointments

U.S. Supreme Court members Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (back row L-R) Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan (Getty)

The Supreme Court on Monday rejected the first individual filing related to a recent lower court decision that invalidated President Obama’s three recess appointments to the National Labor Relations Board. The filing had sought to have the board's rulings invalidated as well.

The emergency filing Monday was on behalf of HealthBridge Management, which manages nursing homes and rehabilitation facilities.

In the company’s 142-page filing, lawyers argued the board made rulings without a quorum -- enough members present to conduct official business -- because three of them were invalid. So the rulings should not apply, the company argued.

“This is an extraordinary request prompted by extraordinary circumstances,” company lawyers said in the filing.

The emergency filing was rejected by Associate Justice Ruth Ginsburg, who received it because it fell into the circuit she oversees.

The move comes after a District of Columbia federal appeals court ruled Jan. 25 that Obama’s appointments last January were unconstitutional because he made them when the Senate was not in full recess. The ruling immediately sparked speculation that some, if not many, of the companies that received unfavorable rulings from the board would file appeals.

Ginsburg could have either made the HealthBridge decision herself or have sent it to the entire court for a decision.

The case is related to a labor dispute at some of HealthBridge’s Connecticut facilities. It asks Justice Ginsburg to stay a court order the board received last month requiring the company to rehire 700 employees involved in the dispute.

The circuit court ruling on the labor board is expected to be appealed. So HealthBridge lawyers argued the order to rehire should be halted until the labor board case is resolved.