NLRB Under Fire for Leaking Confidential Info

Terence Flynn, a Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), has been accused of leaking internal information to two former NLRB board members, according to an Inspector General report released Friday.

Flynn began working at the NLRB in 2004, was nominated to the board by President Obama in Jan. 2011, and was given a recess appointment in Jan. 2012, according to Ryan J. Reilly of Talking Points Memo.

Flynn allegedly gave the former NLRB members information regarding the status of pending cases and information pertaining to how NLRB members were expected to vote, according to the report authored by NLRB Inspector General David Berry and released by Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the ranking member of the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

The report claims Flynn “knew, or should have know, that he had a duty to maintain the confidence of the information that he received in the performance of his official duties.”

Flynn allegedly gave information to Peter Kirsanow, outside counsel for the National Association of Manufacturers and Peter Schaumber, who serves as co-chairman for Mitt Romney’s labor advisory team, Ryan J. Reilly of Talking Points Memo reports.

Kirsanow denies the charges, telling the Wall Street Journal that he “received no inside information whatsoever.”

Schaumber has given no comment.

Rep. John Kline (R-MN), chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce, said in a statement that this is just another reason why President Obama shouldn’t have made recess appointments to the board.

“Three individuals now sit on the National Labor Relations Board, despite never participating in a public hearing, and in some cases, sidestepping the traditional confirmation process altogether,” Kline said.

“The Senate’s vetting process provides an important forum to raise and address allegations of misconduct before someone is elevated to a position of public trust. Both President Obama and Senate Democrats allowed partisan politics to obstruct the public’s right to examine the backgrounds of these individuals. This report illustrates the vital importance of the constitutional confirmation process,” he added.

AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka has weighed in on the matter and is calling for Flynn's resignation.

“Even for an agency that has at times been highly politicized, these unethical practices are unprecedented and indefensible. NLRB member Flynn should resign immediately. The Department of Justice should quickly investigate and bring criminal charges if violations are found,” Trumka said in a statement.