END OF DEMOCRAT'S TERM ON LABOR BOARD TRIGGERS LARGE NUMBER OF PRO-MANAGEMENT RULINGS

The sole Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Lauren McFerran, reached the end of her term on December 16, 2019.  Traditionally, the departure of a Board member triggers large numbers of rulings, particularly if the case has overturned existing precedent and so a new member does not have to start all over in reviewing the pending cases.  It is likely that the Board will continue to function with the three Republicans for some time, but at some point in the future there will likely be Democrats nominated to the Board as part of some type of compromise with other appointments.  The Obama-era NLRB also functioned with three members of the Democratic Party for about eight months.

As of this writing, several encouraging rulings or developments were issued in December with pro-management implications.  These rulings were generally by three-one margin, with the sole Democrat dissenting.