One Board Member Confirmed, Second Pending with NLRB

The Senate last week approved one of President Donald Trump’s two nominees for the National Labor Relations Board.

The 50-48 vote to approve Marvin Kaplan fell along party lines.

Kaplan was counsel at the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Before that, he worked as counsel for the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

His confirmation evenly splits the board on party lines. If the nomination of William Emanuel is confirmed, it will give Republicans a majority on the five-member board that referees disputes between unions and employers.

Emanuel is a Los Angeles attorney at the Littler Mendelson law firm. His confirmation hearing hasn’t been scheduled.

Democrats had controlled the board since 2010, when President Barack Obama’s nominees were confirmed.

Earlier this year, Trump elevated the sole Republican, Philip Miscimarra, to chairman. That move slowed the pace of board decisions, because Miscimarra could control which cases were decided but lacked the votes to win rulings.

Source: Wall Street Journal