Come New Year's Day, barring approval of new appointees, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) will be stripped of its authority to issue rulings due to a lack of majority representation.
Two board members' appointments have already expired, and a third expires on Dec. 31, 2011, leaving the NLRB with just two of five members for the New Year. In New Process Steel, L.P v. NLRB, the Supreme Court in 2010 ruled that the board could not issue rulings with just two members.
So far, the Senate has refused to act on President Obama's dilemma, led by Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who is still seething over the NLRB's assault on the Boeing plant in his state and who is blocking consideration of all nominees.
Yesterday (Dec. 14, 2011), President Obama announced the nomination of two Democrats to the NLRB, Sharon Block and Richard Griffin, to go along with a previous appointment of a Republican, Terence Flynn. (The NLRB is composed of three members from the president's party and two from the opposition.)
One thing this stalemate won't stop, however, is the NLRB's earlier mandate that virtually all U.S.-based businesses display the new National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) Employee Rights Poster by Jan. 31, 2012. Get your NLRA Poster today to stay in compliance.