Why Biden's NLRB changes should cause you to rethink policies, procedures
When President Joe Biden made it a day-one priority to eliminate Donald Trump's high-level appointees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), he sent a strong signal that employers should brace themselves for the ride ahead when it comes to modifying their workplace policies and procedures under the new administration's more employee-friendly approach.
How we got here so quickly
Since his first day in office, President Biden has carried through on many of his campaign promises to strengthen employee workplace rights. Through various Executive Orders (EOs), he has:
- Increased the minimum wage for federal employees to $15 an hour (presumably paving the way for individual states to follow suit);
- Banned discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity in federal employment (which, again, sends a message to states that, unlike Nevada, still permit such bias); and
- Eliminated a previous ban on transgender individuals joining the U.S. Armed Forces.
A lesser-known change, however, could have more far-reaching implications to businesses in any industry (whether unionized or not).
On January 20, President Biden fired NLRB General Counsel (GC) Peter Robb, whom President Trump had installed. The termination occurred approximately 10 months before Robb's tenure was set to expire. The move was in stark contrast with previous presidential administrations, which had allowed incumbent Board officials to finish out their appointed terms.
NLRB becomes emboldened under Democrats