The Practical NLRB Advisor: Summer 2021

Ogletree Deakins’ Traditional Labor Relations Practice Group is pleased to announce the publication of the Summer 2021 issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor. This issue offers insight into the significant and accelerated changes in labor relations policy we have seen since President Joe Biden took office. While running for office, Biden promised to be the most “pro-union” president. Thus far, he has matched those words with actions.

When there is a change in executive power following a U.S. presidential election, it typically takes time for the federal bureaucracy to advance the new administration’s policies. Indeed, the simple constraints of time cause every new administration to order its bureaucratic priorities. Moreover, reshaping policy at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has traditionally not been at the top of any new president’s extensive to-do list. President Biden, however, has broken this historical pattern. Not only did his administration fire the incumbent general counsel before the end of his term, it replaced him with an “acting” general counsel who has been anything but passive. As noted in this issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor, Acting General Counsel Peter Ohr has been undoing numerous Trump-era policies. While the new administration’s pick for a permanent general counsel has faced some Senate headwinds, the pace of change is unaffected.

This issue also examines the new administration’s activity with regard to the Board. The first opportunity for President Biden to install a majority on the Board will not arrive until the expiration of Member Bill Emanuel’s term in August 2021. Nevertheless, the administration has already forwarded its nominees to the U.S. Senate. The new nominees are longtime labor-side attorneys who, once confirmed, will decidedly tip the ideological balance on the Board. With a Democratic-controlled Senate, both nominees are expected to be promptly confirmed.

Given the speed and efficiency with which the new administration has installed key individuals into policymaking positions until it is able to shepherd its own policy makers through the U.S. Senate confirmation process, the need to stay informed and proactive could not be more paramount. This issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor offers a detailed examination of the dynamic and fast-changing labor relations landscape in the new presidential administration.

Please let us know if you have any questions. We will distribute the next issue of the Practical NLRB Advisor in the coming months.