You’ll have to excuse us as we go a bit off script for a moment. Once a year, the ABA Journal publishes a list of the 100 best legal blogs. This year, the call for nominations is due no later than Aug. 9, 2013. We aren’t one to brag, but think we’ve carved a nice little niche in the labor blog world and wouldn’t argue with the editors of the ABA Journal if BT Labor Relations made…
READ MOREAnd you thought Lafe Solomon was anti-employer? Buckle your seat belts folks because the employer community is in for a rough ride. The White House has confirmed Board member Richard Griffin has been nominated to be the new General Counsel for the NLRB. Before joining the Board as a “recess” appointee, Griffin served as General Counsel for the International Union of Operating Engineers. Griffin has served on the board of directors for the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee…
READ MOREAs we reported earlier, the Senate voted this afternoon on President Obama’s nominations to the National Labor Relations Board. All five nominees — Kent Hirozawa, Nancy Schiffer, Harry Johnson, Philip Miscimarra, and current Board Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce — were confirmed by the Senate. This vote ends the considerable political haggling that has occurred over the President’s nominations during the last few months and sets the stage for the NLRB to operate with a full…
READ MOREThe U.S. Senate is currently voting on the slate of nominations that President Obama recently nominated to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). If confirmed, the NLRB will have a full compliment of five members. The vote can currently be followed online at CSPAN. We will update this post with additional information once the vote is finalized. Keith BrodieKeith J. Brodie is a partner in Barnes & Thornburg LLP’s Grand Rapids, Michigan office. He devotes…
READ MOREEmployers suffered another blow late last week when an ALJ struck down Boeing’s confidentiality policy (strike one) and a revised confidentiality policy (strike two). Boeing’s initial policy “directed” witnesses in HR investigations not to discuss the investigated matter with co-workers (limiting the discussion to investigators and union representatives). The ALJ struck down the initial policy based upon the Board’s relatively recent decision in Banner Estrella Medical Center. However, more troubling, was the ALJ striking down the company’s revised policy…
READ MORESomewhat underreported was the nomination of disputed NLRB Member recess appointee Richard F. Griffin, Jr. to be the NLRB’s new General Counsel. President Obama withdrew Griffin’s nomination to be a Member of the NLRB as part of a deal with Senate Republican’s last week. If confirmed, Griffin would fill the slot currently occupied by Lafe Solomon as Acting General Counsel. Solomon was most well known for having signed off on the controversial complaint issued against Boeing for…
READ MOREYesterday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid filed for cloture on the nominations of Kent Hirozawa, Nancy Schiffer and Mark Gaston Pearce to the NLRB, and a nominee to the FBI. If cloture is successful, there will be up to 8 hours of debate time on each nomination before a vote is taken on the nomination. The cloture vote on the FBI nominee is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, July 29, 2013. Upon disposition of each nomination, the…
READ MOREOn Tuesday, July 23, the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee held a public hearing to question the President’s NLRB nominees, Nancy Schiffer and Kent Hirozawa. C-Span’s coverage of the full hearing can be found here. Written statements from the nominees can be found on the HELP Committee’s web site here. John KoenigJohn T.L. Koenig is a partner in the Labor & Employment Department of Barnes & Thornburg LLP. He maintains a national, full-service…
READ MOREThe other shoe is about to drop on the deal that allowed Sen. Harry Reid to step away from his threat to take the “nuclear” option in Senate. The Huffington Post is reporting today that former Board member Richard Griffin, who according to some got thrown under the bus along with fellow board member Sharon Block as part of that deal, is expected to be nominated as the next General Counsel of the NLRB. Lest we…
READ MOREIn another groundbreaking decision against the NLRB, the Fourth Circuit has followed the D.C. and Third Circuits’ reasoning in Noel Canning and New Vista Nursing and Rehabilitation regarding presidential recess appointments and as a consequence, has found President Obama’s January 2012 appointments invalid. In its consolidated opinion, the Court noted the following: “[W]e agree with the Noel Canning and New Vista Nursing courts that the term ‘the Recess,’ as used in the Recess Appointments Clause,…
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