Sept 30 (Reuters) - Amazon.com ( AMZN ) must pursue a challenge

to the National Labor Relations Board's structure in a

Washington, D.C., court rather than in Texas, a federal judge in

San Antonio has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez in a decision issued

Sunday rejected Amazon's ( AMZN ) claims that its lawsuit stemming from a

union election at a New York City warehouse had sufficient ties

to Texas, where three other judges have recently ruled that the

NLRB's structure likely violates the U.S. Constitution.

Rodriguez also refused to block the NLRB from deciding in an

underlying administrative case whether Amazon ( AMZN ) must bargain with

the union at the Staten Island warehouse known as JFK8. The

judge said the company had failed to show that it would face

irreparable harm if the board issued a ruling.

The NLRB had sought to move Amazon's ( AMZN ) lawsuit filed earlier

in September to a New York federal court in whose district the

warehouse is located. Rodriguez, an appointee of Republican

former President George W. Bush, said the case belongs in

Washington, D.C, because the board will decide Amazon's ( AMZN ) case

from its headquarters there.

Amazon ( AMZN ) did not immediately respond to a request for comment

on Monday. An NLRB spokeswoman declined to comment.

The ruling is a setback in Amazon's ( AMZN ) bid to stop the NLRB

from ordering the company to bargain with the first union in its

history. The labor board in August upheld the results of the

election at JFK8, rejecting Amazon's ( AMZN ) claims that it was tainted

by demonstrations held by workers and union organizers and that

board officials who oversaw the voting were biased toward the

union.

Amazon ( AMZN ) is likely to appeal the ruling to the New

Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is widely

considered the most conservative federal appeals court. The

three Texas judges who recently ruled against the NLRB all cited

a 2022 5th Circuit decision involving the U.S. Securities and

Exchange Commission, which has a similar structure to the labor

board.

Amazon ( AMZN ) on Friday had already asked the 5th Circuit to step

in, arguing that Rodriguez's delay in deciding its motion to

block an NLRB ruling amounted to a "constructive denial."

The company said the case should remain in Texas because at

least four former employees at JFK8 now live in the state, and

because part of the underlying board case was processed by an

NLRB office in Arizona that covers parts of Texas.

Rodriguez stayed his decision until any appeal by Amazon ( AMZN ) is

resolved.

Amazon's ( AMZN ) lawsuit is one of about 20 filed against the NLRB

since last year arguing that the agency's in-house enforcement

proceedings violate the U.S. Constitution. Judges in Chicago,

Washington, D.C., Detroit and Connecticut have rejected bids by

other employers to block NLRB cases against them.

Amazon ( AMZN ) and the other businesses suing the board have argued

that the agency's administrative judges, who hear cases alleging

illegal labor practices, and five board members who review the

judges' rulings are improperly shielded from being removed at

will by the U.S. president.

The companies have also argued that board proceedings

violate their right to a jury trial and the separation of powers

under the U.S. Constitution.

The case is Amazon.com Services v. NLRB, U.S. District Court

for the Western District of Texas, No. 5:24-cv-1000.

For Amazon ( AMZN ): Kurt Larkin and Amber Rogers of Hunton Andrews

Kurth

For the NLRB: Tyler Wiese, Christine Flack and Michael Dale

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(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York)