The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a confirmation hearing on the nominations of Crystal Carey to be NLRB General Counsel, Brittany Panuccio to be a member of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and Brian Christine to be Assistant Secretary of Health at the Department of Health and Human Services.
In a notable exchange during the hearing, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) said he’s worried about Ms. Carey refusing to enforce NLRB precedent that she disagrees with, particularly the Board’s 2024 decision outlawing mandatory anti-union meetings after Carey publicly criticized the ruling, saying it went too far in limiting employers’ ability to communicate with workers. Hawley’s concerns are notable as the HELP Committee has 12 Republicans and 11 Democrats, so Carey’s nomination could fail to advance if Hawley and all the Democrats vote against her. Later in the hearing, HELP Committee Chair Bill Cassidy (R-LA) asked Carey how she would soothe Hawley’s concerns about her choices related to captive audience meeting cases being determined by her discretion rather than NLRB precedent. Carey responded that she believes “the agency is an independent agency, and I believe that the authority to make those prosecutorial decisions lies with the confirmed general counsel.”
In a separate exchange with Committee Ranking Member Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Carey also refused to say whether the NLRB is constitutional, adding that the question will ultimately be decided by the courts.