On November 2, 2009, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in New Process Steel L.P. v. NLRB, paving the way for it to resolve the validity of hundreds of decisions issued by the National Labor Relations Board since January 25, 2008. As a result of an impasse in the final year of the Bush administration, three vacancies have gone unfilled, leaving only two Board members, Democrat Wilma Liebman and Republican Peter Schaumber. Three federal courts of appeal have upheld the decisions of the two-member Board, while the D.C. Circuit ruled that the decisions were invalid. Oral argument will likely occur in March 2009 and a decision will be issued by June 2009.

The Board has been deciding cases only when the two remaining members agreed on a result. On October 21, 2009, the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee approved President Obama’s three nominees to the Board. However, the nominations are currently stalled following a hold placed by Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) over Republican concerns about nominee Craig Becker.