Deal Reached in Senate on Presidential Nominations

After weeks of partisan disagreement – with Democrats threatening to change the procedural rules in the Senate to avoid Republican attempts to filibuster presidential nominees, including nominees for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Secretary of the Department of Labor (DOL) – Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have reached a deal to confirm the nominees. The bipartisan deal would pave the path for votes on NLRB nominees, Chairman Mark Gaston Pearce, Harry I. Johnson, III, and Philip A. Miscimarra. Part of the deal requires that President Obama withdraw his previous board nominations of Sharon Block and Richard Griffin. Block and Griffin were last year’s two controversial recess appointees. The deal also led to the confirmation of Thomas Perez as Department of Labor Secretary. Perez’s confirmation could result in the DOL moving forward with many items on their regulatory agenda, including issues that focus on safety and health regulations, affirmative action requirements for federal contractors, and finalizing a Persuader rule. The Persuader rule would limit the “advice” exception under the Labor-Management Reporting and Disclosure Act so that all consultation with labor lawyers and/or consultants would be subject to disclosure to the DOL.  This rule will significantly impact employers’ ability to retain counsel.  A final rule is projected for November 2013. For more information, please contact Jim Young at (202) 547-0133 or youngj@agc.org.