Nomination President
Joe Biden nominated Jennifer Abruzzo to become the General Counsel of the NLRB on February 17, 2021 after firing the previous General Counsel,
Peter B. Robb. Following her confirmation hearing, Abruzzo was
confirmed by the Senate in a 51-50 vote, with all Democrats voting in favor and all Republicans voting against, and Vice President
Kamala Harris breaking the tie in favor of Abruzzo's confirmation. She is the second woman to ever serve as NLRB general counsel, after Rosemary Collyer. The confirmation of Abruzzo received support from unions, and she is expected to improve the investigative and enforcement capacity of NLRB lawyers by reversing budget cuts and staffing reductions implemented during the tenure of her predecessor,
Tenure As General Counsel, Abruzzo issued a memo declaring that
college athletes have the right to organize. In office, Abruzzo has pushed for the NLRB to protect immigrants' rights to organize, regardless of their immigration status. The success of the
Amazon Labor Union organizing drive at the company's JFK8 facility in
Staten Island,
New York has been attributed in part to Abruzzo's leadership at the NLRB. In April 2022, Abruzzo issued a memorandum calling for the NLRB to find
captive audience meetings unlawful. General Counsel Abruzzo notified Regional Offices in May of 2023 that non-compete clauses should generally be considered unlawful.
Termination On January 27, 2025,
Bloomberg News reported that Abruzzo had been fired by email.
Subsequent Career In April 2025, Abruzzo joined the California law firm of Bush Gottlieb as Of Counsel. She also returned to CWA as a Senior Advisor to President. == References ==