Biden Appointees Will Not Recuse Themselves From Union Case Brought by Former Employer

freebeacon ^ | November 9, 2021 | Patrick Hauf

[MarvinStinson]

Two of the nation's top labor arbiters will not recuse themselves from a case involving their former employer, a chief Democratic Party ally.

David Prouty and Gwynne Wilcox serve on the five-member National Labor Relations Board, the federal agency that dictates labor laws. Board chairman Lauren McFerran announced Friday that the pair will not recuse themselves from a lawsuit filed by the Service Employees International Union, their former employer. The SEIU is challenging a Trump-era "joint employment" rule, which holds that franchises are distinct from parent companies.

Prouty directly opposed the Trump rule at the SEIU, as did Wilcox. Their failure to recuse themselves from the case could lead to a favorable ruling for their former employer. Unions largely oppose the rule, which makes it harder to hold parent companies liable for violations committed by franchisees. The SEIU and other labor groups are pushing for a broader definition of "joint employers," which would make it easier for them to sue large corporations when franchisees violate labor laws.

Sen. Mike Braun (R., Ind.) said the NLRB is inconsistent in asking for recusals.

"The swamp is back to their usual hypocrisy, and the National Labor Relations Board's double standard on what constitutes a conflict of interest is an obvious case of politics winning over ethics," Braun said.

In a letter to Republican lawmakers, McFerran said an ethics officer ruled Prouty and Wilcox would not violate any rules or regulations by ruling on the case.

[MarvinStinson]

Wilcox and Prouty were appointed to the NLRB by President Biden specifically to help expand the coercive powers of Biden's big labor political allies," Semmens told the Free Beacon. "What this episode shows is that Wilcox and Prouty can't even be bothered with the appearance of impartiality as they push the agenda of their former union colleagues."

[MarvinStinson]

The NLRB has a history of asking for recusals in joint employer cases.

The board vacated a 2017 decision on the issue after it ruled that Trump-appointee William Emanuel had a conflict of interest.

Emanuel had no connections to the parties in the lawsuit, but the NLRB inspector noted that his former law firm represented a group in a case the 2017 decision overturned.

[ASOC]

Biden - the entire administration is a revolving door/conflict of interest machine.

[Fireone]

Democrats never recuse themselves, hasn’t anyone noticed?

[MarvinStinson]

bmp

[hinckley buzzard]

Of course not. Democrats Never recuse themselves. Never. That’s for stupid suckers like republicans.