On December 8, the Senate confirmed Lauren McFerran (D) as a member of the National Labor Relations Board by a vote of 54-40, along party lines. Ms.  McFerran will replace Democrat Nancy Schiffer, whose appointment is set to expire December 16, 2014.  Employers should expect that her views will be similar to Member Schiffer’s pro-labor stance. Ms. McFerran’s appointment to the NLRB ensures the Board will retain its 3-2 Democratic majority after the Republicans take control of the Congress in 2015.

Ms. McFerran has been the Chief Counsel for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions since 2010.  Prior to that, she was Senior Labor Counsel for Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) and Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA).  Ms. McFerran also was an Associate at a Washington, D.C., law firm specializing in the representation of public and private sector labor organizations and related institutions.