For the first time in three years, the U.S. Senate last week confirmed the appointment of a new general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board.

On Oct. 29, the Senate nominated Richard Griffin, former general counsel of the International Union of Operating Engineers, as the NLRB's new general counsel for a four-year term. The final vote was 55 in favor, and 44 opposed.

Griffin's appointment marks the end of what appears to be “the longest time that the Board has gone without a confirmed general counsel in its 78-year history,” Ronald Meisburg, a partner with law firm Proskauer Rose, wrote in a client alert.

As general counsel, Griffin's responsibilities will be to investigate and prosecute charges of unfair labor practice cases, supervise NLRB field offices, decide which cases to pursue, and implement the policies and procedures field agents should follow. 

Following Griffin's confirmation, NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce stated that Griffin's confirmation will “ensure the NLRB's ability to enforce the National Labor Relations Act,” which guarantees the rights of workers “to organize and bargain collectively” and to engage in “concerted activities to improve their pay and working conditions.”

“Things have been relatively quiet at the Board these past few months,” Meisberg wrote. “Expect that to end."

Gerald Lutkus, a partner with the law firm Barnes & Thornburg, said that unions could especially benefit from the nomination. “Given Griffin's background, his voting record during his short controversial stint on the Board as a ‘recess' appointee, and the solid 3-2 pro-union majority now sitting on the Board, one can expect that it will be full speed ahead on the Board's pro-union agenda,” Lutkus wrote in a client alert.

Once Griffin's is sworn in, it will be the first time in at least a decade that the NLRB has operated with not only a confirmed general counsel, but also five confirmed members.

Lafe Solomon had been serving as acting general counsel since June 21, 2010.