With a 50-48 vote along party lines, on April 11, 2018, the United States Senate confirmed management-side labor lawyer John Ring as the newest member of the National Labor Relations Board. With Member Ring’s confirmation, the NLRB is now back to full strength with five members, comprised of three Republican-nominated members and two Democrat-administration appointees. This Republican majority is anticipated to roll back many of the NLRB decisions and policies issued by the Board during the Obama administration that were viewed as tilting the deck in favor of unions and employees.
UPDATE: On April 16, 2018, Member Ring was sworn in as Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board for a term through December 2022. Chairman Ring replaced former Chairman Kaplan, whose position as Chairman lasted only a few months and likely will be remembered most for his decision to join Members Kaplan and McFerran to vacate the NLRB’s decision in Hy-Brand, which unwound the NLRB’s earlier controversial decision on joint employer issues in Browning-Ferris Industries, based on a purported conflict of interest involving Member Emanuel, who participated in the Hy-Brand decision.