Multiple delays in a Senate committee confirmation vote for John Ring, President Trump’s pick to join the National Labor Relations Board has put the business community on edge.
A Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee vote for Ring was announced for March 7, March 8, and March 12 and it was postponed each time with no public explanation. At press time no new date for a vote on Ring’s nomination has been set.
“We are not sure what is delaying the vote, but we hope it happens expeditiously,” said Sean Redmond, executive director of the Chamber of Commerce’s Workforce Freedom Initiative.
No particular public issue has arisen regarding the nomination of Ring, a lawyer from global law firm Morgan Lewis, who would replace former board member Philip Miscimarra, who stepped down in December.
Democrats have been critical of Ring as too friendly to business and the vote was widely expected to be along party lines. A Senate source with knowledge of the situation said Republicans would likely need all GOP committee members present to ensure Ring’s confirmation. The delays have been the result of simple scheduling matters.
That nevertheless leaves the five-member board, which is the federal government’s top labor law enforcement agency, split 2-2 between Republican and Democratic appointees, ensuring stalemates on any high-profile vote that requires the full board.
Business groups are currently scrambling to undo a move by the NLRB late last month that reinstituted a controversial Obama-era ruling known as “joint employer” that vastly expanded corporate legal liability, especially for companies that franchise.
The Obama-era ruling was overturned in the December Hy-Brand case by the then-GOP majority board. However, the board then vacated that ruling in late February after determining that one member, Trump appointee William Emanuel, should have recused himself from the case. That restored the Obama-era rule.
