(National Labor Relations Board)
Last week, the only Republican member of the National Labor Relations Board showed up to work, giving the board the quorum needed to vote on proposed rules. Brian Hayes had earlier threatened to resign in order to prevent the board's two-member Democratic majority from moving forward with a proposal to streamline union representation elections, among other things. But Hayes showing up to work doesn't end the story. House Democrats had raised the possibility that Hayes was being offered "enticements by private parties"; now, they're saying that:
“We understand that the [NLRB] Inspector General has opened his own investigation into these matters, apparently based on information he has received, and we will await the results of that investigation,” Aaron Albright, a spokesperson for the Democrats on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, told POLITICO in a statement. [...]
The Inspector General’s office would not confirm or deny whether an investigation is ongoing due to privacy concerns but said it is aware of the allegations.
“Dave Berry, Inspector General of the National Labor Relations Board, confirmed that his office is aware of allegations concerning possible enticements offered to Board Member Brian Hayes to resign his position. The allegations that were raised would naturally concern an Inspector General at any agency. However, the NLRB’s Inspector General does not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation,” NLRB spokesperson Nancy Cleeland told POLITICO.
Since Hayes did not resign, he's presumably in the clear, but (assuming the House Democrats are correct about an investigation being underway) it will be interesting to see if he was indeed offered "enticements" to resign, and if so, from whom the offers came. Not to mention that the prospect of an investigation should keep Hayes from rethinking his decision to stay and be outvoted.