Some are old, and some are new. Some are “red,” and some are “blue.”
President Trump has announced his nominations for three seats on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and two seats on the National Labor Relations Board.
EEOC
The five-member EEOC is down to three members, and one — former Acting Chair Victoria Lipnic (R) — has already announced that she will not seek a third term when her current term expires in July. If Ms. Lipnic is not replaced, the EEOC will be down to only two members, meaning that it will lack a quorum.
But fear not — the President has three nominees, one Democrat and two Republicans. If the Senate confirms them, then the EEOC will be fully staffed again, I believe for the first time during his administration.
The first nominee is really a re-nominee: Keith Sonderling (R), whom President Trump nominated last year but who was not confirmed. Mr. Sonderling is currently deputy administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor.
The two new nominees are Andrea Lucas (R), an associate in the law firm where Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia was a partner, and Jocelyn Samuels (D), Executive Director of the Williams Institute of the UCLA School of Law. According to its website, the Williams Institute “is dedicated to conducting rigorous, independent research on sexual orientation and gender identity law and public policy.”
(Will the Republicans confirm Ms. Samuels? We’ll see . . .)
NLRB
The five-member NLRB currently has two vacant Democratic seats, and the term of Republican Marvin Kaplan will expire at the end of August. The President has nominated Lauren McFerran (D), whose term expired in December, and Member Kaplan, to serve new five-year terms. The President has not nominated anyone to fill the remaining Democratic vacancy.
Robin Shea is a Partner with the law firm of Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete, LLP and has more than 20 years’ experience in employment litigation, including Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (including the Amendments Act), the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act, the Equal Pay Act, and the Family and Medical Leave Act; and class and collective actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state wage-hour laws; defense of audits by the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs; and labor relations. She conducts training for human resources professionals, management, and employees on a wide variety of topics.
