President Trump has named Marvin E. Kaplan as Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), replacing Chairman Philip A. Miscimarra, whose term expired on December 16, 2017. Kaplan was sworn in as a Board Member in August 2017, for a term ending in August 2020.

Prior to his NLRB appointment, Chairman Kaplan had a prestigious career, serving as Chief Counsel to the Chairman of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, as counsel for the House Committee on Oversight Government Reform, and as policy counsel for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Read the full NLRB press release here.

The National Labor Relations Board has voted to overrule Browning-Ferris guidelines for joint-employer liability established in 2015. Going forward, under the standards held prior to the Browning-Ferris ruling, “two or more entities will be deemed joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) if there is proof that one entity has exercised control over essential employment terms of another entity’s employees (rather than merely having reserved the right to exercise control) and has done so directly and immediately (rather than indirectly) in a manner that is not limited and routine.”

Chairman Philip A. Miscimarra, and Members Marvin E. Kaplan and William J. Emanuel provided the majority opinion.  Members Mark Gaston Pearce and Lauren McFerran dissented.

Read the full press release here.

United Automobile Workers (UAW) union employees filed a petition December 6 (here) with the National Labor Relations Board seeking to form their own union. A union for the union. That seems almost poetic.

Bloomberg has reported after an exclusive interview with Peter Robb, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) general counsel, that Robb looks poised to reverse many Obama-era rulings. Robb instructed his staff in a December 1 memo to prepare talking points for all policy changes over the last eight years, as well as any rulings with dissenting opinions.

Robb stated, “Basically, you’re looking at a list of things that I think we need to be prepared to talk about and provide a position to the board.”

Robb was confirmed as general counsel on November 8. Read Bloomberg’s full article here.

Peter B. Robb was sworn in as General Counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today for a four year term. He was nominated by President Trump in September and was confirmed by the Senate on November 8.

Mr. Robb stated, “I have always believed in the core values expressed in the National Labor Relations Act, which, in essence, is to protect the rights of employees to engage in union or other protected, concerted activity with respect to wages, hours and working conditions, as well as the rights of employees to refrain from such activities.  And, once employees have freely chosen a labor organization to represent them, the Act promotes collective bargaining.  These principles are part of the foundation of our successful economic system.”

Prior to his nomination, Mr. Robb worked as a Director for the law firm Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC. He also served on the American Bar Association’s Practice and Procedures Committee for the NLRB.

Read the full press release here.

During a recent oversight hearing before the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Labor Secretary Acosta hinted that his department may revise its interpretation of laws that govern work centers and how they disclose finances.

Conservative think tanks and lobby groups  have proposed that organizations like the Fight for $15, OUR Walmart, and Restaurant Opportunities Centers United to be classified as traditional labor organizations under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act (LMRDA), making them subject to the same financial disclosure rules as unions.

The Department of Labor’s Office of Labor-Management Standards, which enforces the LMRDA, has set policy directions to prioritize robust oversight of large union headquarters in the past, but saw their funding cut during the Obama-era. Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx asked Acosta for a detailed response on what his department plans to do to restore the OLMS to its previous capacity.

Read more about the ongoing changes under Acosta and further discussion about this issue here.