Statement on Administrative Error During Member Prouty’s Swearing-in

Today, Chairman Lauren McFerran of the National Labor Relations Board sent a letter to the NLRB’s Congressional oversight committees reporting an internal administrative error that may have delayed the commencement of Member David M. Prouty’s term by approximately three weeks. 

Chairman McFerran’s letter explained that on September 22, the Agency became aware of an administrative error in the swearing-in of Board Member David Prouty. Due to an internal miscommunication, when Member Prouty was sworn in on August 28, the Agency was unaware that his Presidential commission had not been signed.  It was signed on September 22.  As detailed in the letter, upon discovery of the oversight, the Agency immediately remedied any potential legal and administrative issues and initiated an internal review to determine the cause of the error.  The error did not affect NLRB casehandling or the rights of any parties before the Board. 

“My top priority as Chairman is helping to responsibly manage the agency in fulfilling the important goals of the National Labor Relations Act.  To that end, I am committed to public transparency and accountability in all aspects of our operations,” said Chairman Lauren McFerran. “While this oversight ultimately had no effect on the Board’s important work, we are taking all appropriate steps to improve our internal operations to ensure that a problem like this does not recur in the future.”