Wilcox is a fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers.[citation needed] She is also a member of the Labor and Employment Law sections of both the American Bar Association and New York State Bar Association.[citation needed] She is a partner at Levy Ratner,P.C,an employment law firm that deals with unions.[2] Part of Wilcox's work is to represent unions before the NLRB.[2]
NLRB
On May 26,2021,President Joe Biden nominated Wilcox to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).[3][4] The Senate HELP Committee held hearings on her nomination on July 15,2021. On July 21,2021,the committee favorably reported her nomination to the Senate floor.[5] Wilcox was confirmed by the entire Senate on July 28,2021,by a roll call vote of 52–47.[6][7] She was sworn into her position on August 4,2021.[2] With the appointment,Wilcox became the first Black woman to be a member of the NLRB.[8][2]
On June 2,2023,President Biden nominated Wilcox for a second term on the board.[9] Her nomination was favorably reported by the Senate's HELP committee on July 12,2023,and confirmed by the full Senate on September 6,2023.[10][11] Her seat was briefly vacant as her initial term expired on August 27,2023.[12] She was designated chair in December 2024 after the term of former chair Lauren McFerran expired.[13]
Dismissal by Donald Trump
President Donald Trump dismissed Wilcox from the NLRB on January 27,2025,though her term was supposed to last into August 2028.[14] Trump's firing of Wilcox and Jennifer Abruzzo is reported to have paralyzed the Board,which now lacks the three-member quorum it needs to decide cases that come before it.[15]
The US Supreme Court holding Morrison v. Olson states that Congress provides tenure protections to certain inferior officers with narrowly defined duties,like the NLRB,from being fired except for cause.[16][17] Her spokesperson said her firing violated "long-standing Supreme Court precedent" and that she would take "legal avenues" to challenge her removal.[18][19] Wilcox's firing also explicitly contradicted a federal statute which provides that members of the NLRB "may be removed by the President,upon notice and hearing,for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office,but for no other cause."[20][21] On February 5,Wilcox filed suit against Trump and NLRB chair Marvin Kaplan in the US District Court for the District of Columbia.[22] On March 6,Judge Beryl Howell ruled that Trump's action violated the National Labor Relations Act,and that Wilcox “remains a member of the National Labor Relations Board”.[23][24] However,on March 28,a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled that the termination could take effect while the lawsuit proceeded.[25]
On April 7,the full Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit voted 7-4 to once again block the termination. However,on April 9,in response to an emergency appeal from the Trump Administration,Chief Justice John Roberts of the United States Supreme Court issued a stay on that decision.[26]
Awards and honors
Wilcox is the recipient of Syracuse University's Chancellor's Citation for Distinguished Achievement. She has also won the Peggy Browning Fund's Lifetime Achievement Award.[27]
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