The following is a follow up to our February 26th Article, “ARE THE EEOC AND NLRB ABOUT TO GRIND TO A HALT?” Click here to read this article.
Last month we wrote an article highlighting the concerns surrounding what would happen if either the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (“EEOC”) or the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) membership dropped below three panel members. Currently, both agencies have only three members and are scheduled to lose members this summer. Without new members, each agency will not be permitted to make any major policy decisions.
Thankfully, earlier this week, on March 2nd, President Trump moved to fill vacant positions at both the EEOC and the NLRB.
For the NLRB, President Trump nominated a former Board member, Lauren McFerran, to rejoin the Board. McFerran’s previous term expired in December 2019. McFerran began serving on the Board back in 2014 and was the last remaining Democratic appointee at the NLRB. Her initial nomination was made by President Barack Obama’s administration. Prior to joining the NLRB, McFerran was the Chief Labor Counsel for the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Additionally, President Trump asked current member and Republican appointee, Marvin Kaplan, to continue to serve on the Board. Member Kaplan’s term is due to expire this August. Prior to his initial 2017 NLRB appointment, Kaplan served as Chief Counsel for the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. These two moves will enable the NLRB to continue to operate, business as usual, with a quorum in place.
For the open EEOC positions, President Trump nominated Andrea Lucas for the Republican seat and Jocelyn Samuels for the Democratic seat. Lucas is a Washington, D.C. labor and employment lawyer and Samuels is the Executive Director at the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, which is a think tank focused on gender identity and sexual orientation public policy and laws. The additions of Lucas and Samuels will preserve the quorum necessary for the EEOC to continue operating, business as usual.
All four nominees must still be confirmed by a majority vote in the Senate. Politics aside, these additions are good for business as they will keep the EEOC and NLRB quorums in place, allowing them to continue to make major policy decisions.
Brody and Associates regularly advises its clients on all labor management issues and provides various related training programs. If we can be of assistance in this area, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com or 203.454.0560. Additionally, if this article generated any additional questions for you, please contact us at info@brodyandassociates.com. We may address your question in a future blog post.
