On September 15, 2017, President Trump appointed Peter Robb to be General Counsel of the NLRB for a four year term. Robb is a management-side attorney, who had previously served as chief counsel to former NLRB Member Robert Hunter.
The General Counsel decides what actions to bring before the NLRB, and also has the authority to dismiss charges. It is widely expected that Robb will roll-back guidance promulgated by President Obama’s General Counsel, and will generally favor pro-business policies. With the Board currently deadlocked with two Republican members and two Democrat members, and with a Republican appointee pending confirmation, one can expect that the NLRB and its decisions will tilt towards the business community’s favor for at least the next three years.