In an article published on June 21, 2018, Steve Simko provided insight on the Supreme Court’s decision in Lucia v. SEC, which ruled that the SEC’s administrative law judges are officers of the U.S. and are subject to the Appointments Clause, meaning like federal judges, they must be constitutionally appointed by the president, head of a federal agency or a court.
The Court’s ruling in Lucia leaves the constitutionality of 1,900 other officials in similar roles at federal agencies in limbo including the National Labor Relations Board, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Social Security Administration, Environmental Protection Agency among others. However, judges at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission should not be impacted because they are already “appointed by the head of the department” so “there shouldn’t be any effect,” noted Simko.
The full article is available here: https://www.bna.com/supreme-court-leaves-n73014476762/