Two new National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) potential nominees have begun the FBI background-check process, a last step before President Trump makes his official recommendation. At this time, it looks as if William Emanuel and Marvin Kaplan may have ousted Doug Seaton for the two vacant seats on the NLRB board. Speculation is that Seaton’s “union-buster” reputation may have disqualified him in the end.
Emanuel and Kaplan bring extensive but different backgrounds to the board. Emanuel is currently a lawyer at Littler Mendelson in Los Angeles. He has authored many briefs for trade associations and manufacturing companies, including a filing that defends “common and valuable” class-action waivers. The Obama administration NLRB found these waivers illegal. The case is now in the Supreme Court.
Kaplan serves as a counsel at the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Previous to that, he spent five years as a Republican counsel for the House Education and Workforce Committee. In 2015, he helped draft the Tribal Labor Sovereignty Act, which denied NLRB jurisdiction on reservations and investigated fraud and abuse within the NLRB and DOL.
If both nominees take their seats on the board, the focus of the NLRB will move from union-oriented to management-oriented, as is typically the case under a Republican president.
Read more about the expected nominations here.
