In an effort to save pension plans from insolvency, the U.S. House of Representatives has passed the Rehabilitation for Multiemployer Pensions Act of 2019 (H.R. 397). The Act would allow the federal government to make grants and loans to multiemployer pension plans that are insolvent or facing insolvency. To accomplish its purpose, the Act proposes … Continue Reading
John Ring, NLRB Chairman, has sent a five-page letter to several members of Congress in response to their request for the NLRB to withdraw its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the joint-employer standard. In the January 17, 2019 letter recently released to the public, the Board Chairman spent considerable time defending the Board’s position and … Continue Reading
Mark Gaston Pearce has been nominated by President Donald Trump to serve a third term on the National Labor Relations Board. Pearce, a 2010 recess-appointee under then-President Barack Obama, was reappointed to a second term in 2013. That term expired on August 27, 2018. Pearce’s nomination now heads to the Senate for consideration. Pearce was … Continue Reading
Floor consideration of the nomination of Republican John Ring to be a member of the National Labor Relations Board is scheduled to take place in the Senate on April 9. Ring is expected to be confirmed by the Republican-majority Senate. If he is confirmed, the NLRB will have a 3-to-2 Republican majority. (For more on … Continue Reading
The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has confirmed Republican John Ring to the National Labor Relations Board by a 12-11 vote. The next step is a vote by the full Senate. The Board is currently composed of two Democratic and two Republican appointees. If Ring is confirmed by the full Senate, the … Continue Reading
NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb’s reported comments on a January 11, 2018, conference call about his proposed changes to how the NLRB operates has stoked resistance from NLRB career staff and others. Robb reportedly plans to centralize the decision-making process about which unfair labor practice cases his office will pursue and reduce the authority of … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has nominated John Ring, a Washington, D.C.-based management-side labor and employment lawyer, to fill the vacant seat on the five-member National Labor Relations Board. If confirmed, Ring would replace former-NLRB Chairman Philip Miscimarra, a Republican, and restore a 3-2 Republican majority to the Board. Miscimarra’s term ended on December 16, 2017. Currently, … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has named new National Labor Relations Board Member Marvin E. Kaplan Chairman. Kaplan was sworn in as a Board Member on August 10, 2017, for a term ending on August 27, 2020. Kaplan said: “The President’s announcement is an honor and privilege, and I look forward to serving as Chairman of the … Continue Reading
Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Ranking Member, Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have written to new NLRB General Counsel Peter B. Robb “to express serious concerns regarding Memorandum 18-02, which [Robb] issued to National Labor Relations Board [] Regional Directors on December 1, 2017.” For more on NLRB General … Continue Reading
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed the “Save Local Business Act” (H.R. 3441), which would add a new, narrow definition of “employer” to the National Labor Relations Act (and the Fair Labor Standards Act) and which clarifies the definition of joint employment under both federal statutes. H.R. 3441 provides that two or more employers … Continue Reading
The U.S. Senate has confirmed Republican Peter Robb to replace Democrat Richard Griffin as National Labor Relations Board General Counsel. Griffin’s term expired on October 31, and Jennifer Abruzzo, who has served as Deputy GC since November 4, 2013, has been serving as Acting GC since. For a review of Griffin’s actions during his four … Continue Reading
Management-side lawyer William Emanuel was confirmed late on September 25, 2017 by the United States Senate to fill the last vacant seat on the National Labor Relations Board. Republican Marvin Kaplan was confirmed on August 2, 2017. According to Bloomberg BNA, the Senate voted along party lines, 49-47, in confirming Emanuel and giving the Board … Continue Reading
Peter B. Robb, a management-side labor law attorney, reportedly is being considered to be the National Labor Relations Board’s next General Counsel. The four-year term for the current NLRB General Counsel, Democrat Richard F. Griffin, Jr., expires this November. Robb previously worked as an NLRB field attorney and as chief counsel to Republican NLRB Member … Continue Reading
The United States Senate has narrowly confirmed former counsel to the Commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission Marvin Kaplan to one of two vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board. Kaplan’s confirmations leaves one vacant seat on the five-member Board. President Donald Trump has nominated management labor lawyer William Emanuel for … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has nominated management labor attorney William Emanuel to fill one of the two vacant seats on the five-member National Labor Relations Board. Trump previously had nominated attorney Marvin Kaplan, counsel to the Commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, for the other vacant seat. If Kaplan and Emanuel, Republicans, are … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has released a budget proposal reducing the National Labor Relations Board’s funding in fiscal year 2018 by nearly six percent. It also calls for significant staff reductions at a time when the agency’s caseload is projected to increase. Under the proposal, the Board’s funding would be reduced by $16 million, from $274 … Continue Reading
Attorneys Marvin Kaplan and William Emanuel will be nominated by President Donald J. Trump to fill the two openings on the five-member National Labor Relations Board, according to the Daily Labor Report. Trump plans to nominate Kaplan and Emanuel by June, following completion of their FBI background checks. If Kaplan and Emanuel are confirmed, the … Continue Reading
President Donald J. Trump has narrowed his list of candidates to fill the two open seats on the five-member National Labor Relations Board to Marvin Kaplan, William Emanuel, and Douglas Seaton, according to Bloomberg BNA. Emanuel and Seaton are labor attorneys and Kaplan is counsel to the Commissioner of the Occupational Safety and Health Review … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump has nominated R. Alexander Acosta to be Secretary of Labor. His nomination comes one day after Andrew Puzder, Trump’s first pick to lead the Department of Labor, withdrew his nomination. Acosta, currently the Dean of Florida International University’s law school, is the son of Cuban immigrants. If confirmed, Acosta would be the … Continue Reading
According to reports, Andrew Puzder, President Donald J. Trump’s nominee for Department of Labor Secretary, has withdrawn his name from consideration. This comes on the heels of a Washington Post report that seven Republican Senators were set to vote against his nomination.… Continue Reading
For the fourth time, Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder’s hearing before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has been postponed, this time indefinitely, according to Politico. The Wall Street Journal reports the postponement is the result of “persistent questions about his ethics and financial paperwork” and that the hearing will not … Continue Reading
The confirmation hearing for Secretary of Labor nominee Andrew Puzder before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee has been rescheduled from February 2 to February 7. No reason has been announced. Senator Patty Murray (D. WA) released a letter in which she asked Puzder “when the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) … Continue Reading
Republican Philip A. Miscimarra has been appointed acting chairman of the National Labor Relations Board by President Donald J. Trump, according to Law360. Miscimarra replaces Mark Gaston Pearce, whose term expires on August 27, 2018. Miscimarra’s term as an NLRB member ends in December 2017. Miscimarra said, “It is an honor to be named NLRB … Continue Reading
Andrew Puzder, President-elect Trump’s choice to head the Department of Labor, may ask that his nomination be withdrawn, according to reports in New York magazine and Politico, quoting a Republican source close to the Trump transition team. Puzder has disputed the story, tweeting on Monday “I am looking forward to my hearing,” which will take … Continue Reading
