U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit

NLRB v. VNS Fed. Servs., LLC

September 3, 2026

Summary

The Sixth Circuit affirmed the National Labor Relations Board’s finding that VNS Federal Services, LLC violated Sections 8(a)(1) and (3) of the NLRA by discharging Israel Bo Sword in retaliation for his protected concerted activity. The court held that Sword’s honest and reasonable invocation of the collective bargaining agreement constituted protected activity under the Interboro doctrine and that VNS’s justification of lack of work was pretextual. The court also declined to review the Board’s remedial order at this stage, directing the parties to address it in compliance proceedings.