The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) moved a step closer to full capacity this week when Craig Becker and Mark Pearce were sworn in as NLRB members, and Jacqueline A. Berrien and Chai Feldblum assumed their positions as Chair and Commissioner, respectively, at the EEOC. These individuals were among the 15 recess appointments made over the recent legislative break.

According to an NLRB press release, (pdf) Becker and Pearce also named their chief counsels. Becker – whose controversial academic writings have espoused admittedly radical changes to labor law – has named Peter D. Winkler as his chief counsel. Winkler has worked at the NLRB for more than 30 years, and has served as chief counsel to both Democrat and Republican Board members. Becker’s choice of Winkler could be seen as a deliberate move to appear more moderate than his past scholarly positions have indicated.

Fellow Democrat Pearce has selected Kent Y. Hirozawa as his chief counsel. Hirozawa is a labor-side attorney at a private law firm. Prior to entering private practice, Hirozawa worked as a field attorney for Region 2 of the NLRB.

Now that both Pearce and Becker have been sworn in, there remains only one vacant seat on the 5-member Board. Although Republican Brian Hayes has been nominated to fill that spot, he was not among the 15 people appointed during the recent recess. Other sitting NLRB members include Chair Wilma Liebman (D) and Peter Schaumber (R).

As for the EEOC, Berrien and Feldblum join Commissioners Stuart J. Ishimaru and Constance S. Barker. Victoria Lipnic, who was also given a recess appointment to be an EEOC Commissioner, will be sworn in later this month. Fellow recess appointee P. David Lopez is expected to be sworn in as EEOC General Counsel today.

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