Federal Judge Benjamin Settle ruled on Aug. 13, that National Labor Relations Board general counsel Lafe Solomon was unconstitutionally appointed to his position. It was the latest example of the judicial branch pushing back against President Obama’s use of recess appointments to bypass the Senate confirmation process.

Settle ruled that the NLRB lacked the standing to charge a Washington state business called Kitsap Tenant Support Services Inc. with unfair labor practices. The judge found that Solomon’s appointment was not valid under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act. That law only allows the appointment of people who have “served as a personal assistant to the departing official” within the prior year. That wasn’t the case with Solomon, whose office had initiated the case against Kitsap.