Labor & Employment Law

Third nomination to NLRB

President Obama has announced his intent to nominate Republican Brian Hayes as a Member of the National Labor Relations Board. [White House press release]

The NLRB now has two Members. The President has nominated three additional Members to bring the Board up to its statutory level of five Members.

The other two nominations are Democrats Craig Becker and Mark Pearce. [Read their biographies here]

Biography for Brian Hayes:

Brian Hayes currently serves as the Republican Labor Policy Director for the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP).

Previously, Mr. Hayes was in private legal practice for over twenty-five years. His practice was devoted exclusively to representing management clients in all aspects of labor and employment law. He has represented employers in scores of cases before the National Labor Relations Board, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and various state fair employment practice agencies. He has served as chief trial counsel in the full range of employment claims in both state and Federal courts.

Mr. Hayes has extensive experience in negotiating labor contracts on behalf of management clients, as well as representing clients in arbitrations, mediations and other forms of alternative dispute resolution. He has argued a number of significant labor cases before the Federal Courts of Appeal; and regularly counseled clients regarding compliance with the full range of state and Federal labor laws including OSHA, FMLA, Title VII and the Fair Labor Standards Act.

Before entering private practice, Mr. Hayes clerked for the Chief Judge of the National Labor Relations Board and thereafter served as Counsel to the Chairman of the NLRB.

In addition to his private practice Mr. Hayes was a member of the adjunct faculty at Western New England Law School where he taught classes in Labor Law, Collective-Bargaining, Arbitration and Employment Litigation. He is a member of the Massachusetts and District of Columbia bars, and the American Bar Association and its Labor and Employment Law Section.

Mr. Hayes earned his undergraduate degree from Boston College and his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center.

My view: All three individuals are highly qualified, and there should be no trouble obtaining confirmation at the Senate. It will be nice to have a full five-Member Board in operation again.

Full post as published by Ross' Employment Law Blog on July 10, 2009 (boomark / email).