Senate Committee Approves NLRB General Counsel Nominee
October 25, 2017
A critical National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) nomination was approved by the Senate’s Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP Committee). Management-side labor attorney Peter Robb’s nomination to be the NLRB’s next General Counsel has been long-anticipated by those interested in seeing changes in the NLRB’s doctrinal jurisprudence. The HELP Committee’s approval of Robb positions him for consideration by the full Senate.
The General Counsel decides which unfair labor practice cases the NLRB should pursue, and which issues to prioritize. The term of current General Counsel Richard Griffin, Jr., a Democrat appointed by President Obama, expires on November 3.
Republicans have been highly critical of the Obama-era NLRB’s rulings and decisions that, they argue, are too union-friendly and burdensome on businesses.
Robb wasnominatedin September, and he is widely expected to work to reverse many of the Obama-era Board’s labor-friendly rulings and decisions. He will be assisted by the NLRB’sfirst Republican majorityin a decade, with Republicans William Emanuel and Marvin Kaplan seated.
The HELP Committee’s approval of Robb’s nomination is another step in a process which employers hope will result in the reversal of several employee-friendly decisions.
