In today’s news and commentary, the White House nominates new EEOC and FTC commissioners and casino workers at Encore Boston Harbor ratify a contract ending a two-month strike.

First, the White House nominated Matt Zandi, chief of staff at the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to Bloomberg Law. If confirmed, he would fill the seat of fired Democratic commissioner Jocelyn Samuels for a term expiring in July 2031, giving Republicans three of the commission’s four seats. The EEOC’s lone Democrat, Kalpana Kotagal, has a term that expires in July. Zandi worked under Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon, and specializes in the False Claims Act. Under Chair Andrea Lucas, the EEOC has dropped transgender bias cases and stepped up investigations of diversity policies and religious discrimination. Title VII bars more than three commissioners from the same party, and three commissioners are needed for a quorum.

Next, the White House nominated Christopher Mufarrige, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, to be an FTC Commissioner. The FTC currently has only two commissioners, after President Trump fired its two Democrats and the Supreme Court upheld the firings in Trump v. Slaughter. According to The American Prospect, Republicans want Mufarrige confirmed in the lame-duck session, in part because the agency could stall if Chair Andrew Ferguson leaves. The Prospect highlighted Mufarrige’s earlier business dealings involving subprime auto lending and a whistleblower’s allegation that he manipulated statistics to justify weakening a CFPB payday lending rule. Under Mufarrige’s leadership, the FTC reached a record $2.5 billion settlement with Amazon over Prime subscriptions.

Finally, casino workers at Encore Boston Harbor ratified a new contract Thursday night, ending a strike that began September 4 and kept roughly 1,600 workers off the job. The two unions, UNITE HERE Local 26 and Teamsters Local 25, represent workers including housekeepers, bartenders, slot attendants, and warehouse staff, and workers returned to work on Friday. Wynn Resorts CEO Craig Billings told investors the day before that the company had reached a “framework for resolution” with union leadership, who recommended it to members. Neither side has released the terms. The unions had pushed for higher wages, more job security, and better health benefits, and Local 26 president Carlos Aramayo said the deal is in line with the market standard in Greater Boston. The strike drew visits from Governor Maura Healey and Senator Ed Markey, and Encore’s September revenues fell more than 20%, according to state gaming commission reports.