Biden Picks Ex-NLRB Lawyer to Join Worker Safety Appeals Panel

President Joe Biden on Wednesday nominated labor-side attorney Mark Eskenazi to the currently stalled administrative panel that hears appeals of OSHA citations.

The nomination of Eskenazi, a former National Labor Relations Board lawyer, potentially clears the way for the US Senate to confirm him and the already-nominated Amanda Wood Laihow, filling the three-member panel’s two vacant seats.

The US Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission has operated for more than a year without a quorum, with Chair Cynthia Attwood serving as its sole member. It thus has been unable to decide cases where an employer or the Occupational Safety and Health Administration disagrees with a decision by a review commission administrative law judge.

As of Wednesday, there were 27 ALJ decisions waiting for a commission decision, some pending since 2021.

The White House said Eskenazi currently serves in the Biden administration as an assistant general counsel at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, where he provides legal advice on the worker rights provisions in the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

A 2008 Georgetown University Law Center graduate, Eskenazi previously worked for 12 years at the NLRB and was in private practice as an associate with Littler Mendelson P.C.

The next step for Eskenazi’s nomination would likely be a confirmation hearing with the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

If the committee approves the nomination, the Senate could potentially vote on Eskenazi and Laihow’s nominations as a package. If approved, Eskenazi’s term would run through April 2027, while Laihow’s term would end in April 2029.

Laihow’s initial term expired in April 2023 and she was renominated by Biden and approved by the committee. However, the Senate hasn’t held a confirmation vote.

She previously served as a Senate Republican staff member and worked for employer trade associations, giving some the perception that she’s more open to employers’ arguments contesting citations than an attorney with a labor-friendly background.