Today, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions will hold a hearing on the Trump administration’s Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) nominations. Janet Dhillon and Daniel Gade are the nominees. Dhillon, who is currently the general counsel of Burlington Stores, began her career at a large corporate law firm before transitioning in-house. She was tapped to become the next chairwoman. Gade, an Iraq War veteran and West Point professor, would be the only non-lawyer on the Commission if confirmed. Gade, who was wounded during service resulting in the loss of his right leg, was once profiled in the New York Times for his advocacy of reining in disability pay for veterans (“People who stay home because they are getting paid enough to get by on disability are worse off”). The addition of Dhillon and Gade would produce a 3-2 Republican majority on the Commission.
In other appointment news, the Trump administration announced last week that it will nominate Peter Robb to be the next general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Robb is a management-side labor attorney based in Vermont. He previously worked as an NLRB field attorney before transitioning into the private sector. Robb has reportedly been critical of certain Obama-era policies, including the rule limiting the period of time between employees filing a petition to organize and the corresponding election.
The New York Times discusses the State Department’s tightened rules for visas into the U.S. As Gardiner Harris reports, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson informed various U.S. embassies that “visitors who require a visa before entering the United States must then follow through on their stated plans for at least three months. If in that period they do something they failed to mention in an interview with a consular official … it will be presumed that they have deliberately lied.” Under previous rules, a change in plans was viewed as a misrepresentation only for the first month after arrival to the U.S.
Ontario-based General Motors workers began striking on Sunday. Union leaders report an impasse in discussions to keep jobs from moving to Mexico. The union also reports that negotiations began to fail upon its demand that the plant be the primary assembly site for the Chevrolet Equinox, a car that has been very successful for G.M.
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March 3
Democrats invite fired federal workers to Trump’s address to a joint session; the NLRB’s acting general counsel announces agency focus on boosting settlements; the United Federation of Teachers may face a regime change
March 2
Judge partially blocks federal worker firings; Trump Administration wants data on federal worker unions; AFT fights Musk by pressuring Tesla.
February 28
In today’s news and commentary, a Senate committee advances Lori Chavez-DeRemer’s nomination and UAW reaches a tentative agreement with Rolls-Royce. On Thursday, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions voted to advance the nomination of Lori Chavez-DeRemer for Secretary of Labor, 14-9. At the Senate hearing, Senator Bernie Sanders, the committee’s ranking member, […]
February 27
Nearly 60,000 University of California workers represented by a pair of unions initiate strike, FTC forms Joint Labor Task Force, and DoorDash reaches settlement with New York AG’s Office to pay $16.8 million in restitution for wage theft practice.
February 25
NLRB stops defending removal protections but continues defending against injunctions; Colorado legislature considers ending right-to-work
February 24
DOJ drops Space-X complaint; Unions and agencies respond to Musk