For a classic example of how partisan politics can impact public policy making, consider the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). Within the last few weeks, this presidentially appointed quasi-judicial independent federal agency that enforces the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) has reversed itself on several precedents established just a few years ago by a Board composed of a different political party majority.
The five-member Board is currently composed of three pro-union Democrats appointed by President Biden, and one pro-management Republican appointed by President Trump. There is one vacancy. The Board’s influential General Counsel (GC) is also a Biden-appointed pro-union Democrat, who replaced a Trump-appointed pro-management Republican.
The now Democrat majority on the Board has wasted no time in reversing a number of significant labor law rulings issued by the Trump-era NLRB, which in turn had reversed a number of such rulings issued by the Obama-era Board. And so it goes.
From an employer perspective, the net effect of these most recent rulings by the Biden-era Board is to increase a company’s potential liability for violating NLRA requirements, while making it harder for an employer to oppose unionization efforts.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.