Labor & Employment Law Daily Wrap Up, ON THE LABOR FRONT—A Republican majority at the NLRB in sight.... and surreptitious taping of collective bargaining, (Jul 29, 2025)
Organizations Mentioned:National Labor Relations Board
By Michael J. Soltis
The prevalence of “personal recording devices” “can affect parties’ ability to engage in free, open good faith bargaining when recordings are done without knowledge or consent.”
If you look in the distance and squint, you may see the faint profile of a Republican-controlled National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) approaching. That it will arrive seems inevitable, but the timing is uncertain.
On July 17, 2025, President Donald J. Trump nominated two Republicans to the Board. These nominees must be approved by a majority of the Senate. Hearings have not been scheduled and the Senate is about to embark on its traditional August recess.
In a few weeks, on August 27, Chairman Kaplan’s term expires. Kaplan reportedly is not interested in serving another term. Kaplan’s leaving the Board upon the expiration of his term would leave Member Prouty as the lone Board Member until the Senate acts on President Trump’s nominees. If the Senate does so, the Board will have a quorum and a 2-1 Republican majority with two vacancies.
Additionally, on June 26, Acting General Counsel William Cowen issued a memo concluding that surreptitiously recording collective bargaining sessions is a per se violation of the duty to bargain in good faith under the NLRA.
For a discussion of the coming NLRB Republican majority and surreptitious recording of collective bargaining sessions, see Mike Soltis’ latest On the Labor Front article: A Republican Majority at the NLRB in Sight.... and Surreptitious Taping of Collective Bargaining.
MainStory: LaborNews Labor Bargaining AgencyNews