Court: 2-person labor board can't make decisions

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme Court says the leading federal agency that referees labor-management disputes cannot operate with only two people sitting on its five-member board.

The court on Thursday said the National Labor Relations Board cannot operate while it is short-staffed.

The board has operated with only two members for more than two years because of partisan battles between Congress and the White House.

The full board delegated its authority to the smaller group when it became obvious that political battles were going to keep it from getting enough new members to fill out a required three-member quorum.

But opponents argued that move was illegal.