A Republican nominee to the National Labor Relations Board represented several prominent U.S. companies at law firm Seyfarth Shaw, including Amazon, automaker Rivian, Airbnb and UnitedHealth, according to a federal ethics disclosure made public on Monday.
Nominee Joshua Ditelberg disclosed the names of dozens of clients on his nominee ethics disclosure, which includes his work in private practice since 2022. Ditelberg has worked for Seyfarth, among the country’s largest management-side labor and employment firms, for more than 20 years.
U.S. President Joe Biden last month nominated Chicago-based Ditelberg to succeed John Ring, a former chairman of the labor board who has since returned to the partnership at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
Ditelberg declined to comment on his nomination, which is pending before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.
The newly released disclosure form, dated June 6, reported that Ditelberg received $473,300 in salary and bonus from 900-lawyer Seyfarth since 2023.
Ditelberg if confirmed to the NLRB would face ethics requirements, including potential recusal on matters involving his firm and former clients over a certain period.
Ecommerce giant Amazon has faced more than 250 NLRB complaints alleging unlawful labor practices across the country in recent years.
In February, in one of the pending cases, Amazon joined rocket maker SpaceX and grocery chain Trader Joe’s in claiming that the NLRB’s in-house enforcement proceedings violate the U.S. Constitution.
Amazon argued that the agency's structure violates the company's right to a jury trial.
Seyfarth in a statement in May said Ditelberg would become the fifth NLRB board member who had been an attorney at the firm. Board members serve five-year terms.
Under the Biden administration, Democrats have a majority on the five-member board.
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