Former Chair Miscimarra Interviewed by POLITICO

POLITICO’s Andrew Hanna sat down with former NLRB chairman Philip Miscimarra to talk about everything from the now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t Hy-Brand joint employment decision to infighting on the current board. Some highlights:

On whether William Emanuel should have recused himself from Hy-Brand (read about the controversy here): “I believe under the ethics rules that were applicable during the time Hy-Brand was decided there was no obligation for member Emanuel to recuse himself … the inspector general report addressing this issue confirmed that at least when the board commenced its consideration of Hy-Brand, member Emanuel didn’t have any requirement of recusing himself.”

On what’s next for the NLRB: ” The board during President Obama’s term implemented very significant changes in a number of very fundamental areas. I would expect in future cases, the board will continue to address situations that involve many of the same issues.”

On infighting among board members: “During my tenure, the board — most of the time — was collegial…. But at the same time, in the relatively narrow band of cases where board members may disagree, there are strongly held views…. I do think that some of the reports about controversies or paralysis at the current board are somewhat overstated.”