Today’s News & Commentary — June 23, 2017

On Tuesday, President Trump nominated Marvin Kaplan to the NLRB. Kaplan is a former lawyer for the Republicans on the House education and oversight committees. Kaplan’s confirmation could lead to the reversal of a number of Obama-era Board actions, as the New York Times details.

According to a new Berkeley study, Seattle’s new minimum wage law has raised wages for restaurant workers without decreasing the number of restaurant jobs. The April 2015 law incrementally increases the minimum wage to $15 by 2021. The Seattle Times notes that an earlier study “reached a more mixed conclusion.”

In National Labor Relations Board v. Murphy Oil-related news, various business groups, from the Chamber of Commerce to the National Association of Manufacturers, have filed amicus briefs pressing the Supreme Court to hold that class action waivers are enforceable. See some of our previous coverage of the case here and here.

President Emmanuel Macron is expected to move forward with a promise to reform France’s labor laws. The Times profiles the country’s largest labor union and its leader Laurent Berger, who may be willing to work with Macron. Foreign Policy and the Times opinion page have additional coverage.

Finally, Forbes has a new infographic on labor union density in OECD countries.