Changes Afoot at the NLRB Under the New Administration


With the ushering in of a new administration, several changes have quickly taken place at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB).

Within hours of taking office, the Biden administration removed Trump appointee NLRB General Counsel Peter Robb and replaced him with interim General Counsel Peter Ohr.  (Ohr may only serve as acting General Counsel for 40 days, per the National Labor Relations Act, unless the administration submits a nomination to the Senate.)  At least one employer has already sought the dismissal of an unfair labor practice charge arguing that Ohr lacks authority to prosecute the case because Robb was unlawfully removed prior to the expiration of his term.

Biden also replaced Republican appointee John Ring as the chairman of the NLRB with Democrat appointee Lauren McFerran.  Ring will remain a sitting member of the Board until December 16, 2022.  The Board remains composed of three Republican appointees, one Democrat appointee, and one vacancy.  At the expiration of Republican appointee William Emanuel’s term on August 27, 2021, the Biden administration will have the opportunity to regain a Democratic majority control of the Board.

Since taking over, Acting General Counsel Ohr has rescinded ten General Counsel Memoranda and two Operations-Management Memoranda from the Trump-era, on the grounds they are either inconsistent with Board policies and/or Board law, or are no longer necessary.  His office has also indicated that there will be a focus on more vigorous outreach, particularly to non-traditional labor communities.

Most notably, the following memoranda were rescinded:

The following were also rescinded:

Employers can expect more changes to come during this time of transition.  Ohr’s rescission memoranda indicated that additional memoranda setting forth additional new policies will be issued in the near future.  Stay tuned for further developments.


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National Law Review, Volume XI, Number 43