Reportedly citing personal reasons, National Labor Relations Board Chairman Philip Miscimarra has declined consideration for a second term on the Board. Miscimarra’s term expires on December 16, 2017, and the Board is facing a slashed budget .
Miscimarra, seen as pro-business, has become known for his numerous strong dissents in opposition to labor-friendly decisions by the Obama Board.
During the past several years, business leaders have been stung by Board decisions that, among other things, have dramatically expanded the scope of the joint employer doctrine and found a host of common work rules unlawful.
Miscimarra repeatedly has written scathing dissents to those pro-labor rulings. Many Board observers have predicted that those dissents will provide a framework which President Donald Trump’s Board may follow to overturn many of those Obama-era decisions.
The NLRB currently has two vacancies, although one of Trump’s two nominees – both Republicans — has been confirmed by the Senate, while the other awaits hearing in the United States Senate. That nominee, William Emanuel ,also is expected to be confirmed, giving the Board a 3-2 Republican majority until December, when Miscimarra’s term ends. It is expected that Trump will nominate a Republican to fill that seat as well.
