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What I've Been Reading This Week


I came across a lot of great articles earlier this week that would certainly warrant their own individual post.  However, I decided to pick and choose a few of the more relevant articles to focus on with this post.  Perhaps one of the more noteworthy developments was Ivanka Trump's trip to Capitol Hill to meet with lawmakers to discuss the proposed paid parental leave plan that the Trump administration recently announced.  For those looking for a breakdown of the initial interaction between Ivanka Trump and Senator Marco Rubio (namely his 'failed' hug which somehow generated a bit of a Tweetstorm), I am afraid you will have to look elsewhere...this post will instead focus on the potential ramifications of that Capitol Hill meeting with an eye toward the possibility of a paid parental leave plan becoming a reality.

As always, below are a couple articles that caught my eye this week.


Ivanka Trump Leads Round table Meeting on Capitol Hill on Paid Parental Leave

On Tuesday, President Donald Trump's eldest daughter, Ivanka Trump, held a round table meeting with lawmakers on Capitol Hill to talk about paid parental leave.  Readers might recall that President Trump recently proposed a paid family leave plan which would provide six weeks of paid leave for new mothers and fathers (including adoptive parents).  Although this proposal (which was included in the President's proposed budget) might not be approved by Congress, Ivanka Trump's meeting was seen as a sign of the Trump administration seeking to work with Congress to create a paid leave plan that could eventually pass Congress.  Until some of the more hot button issues get through Congress (such as health care and possibly tax reform), paid parental leave will likely be taking a back seat.  With that being said, perhaps this is a proposal (President Trump's version or a compromise) that could garner bipartisan support?


President Trump Makes Nomination For Empty NLRB Seat

As expected, President Trump took steps to fill a vacant NLRB seat, in an effort to appoint more employer-friendly Board members after several years of pro-union rulings during the Obama administration.  Earlier this week, President Trump formally nominated Marvin Kaplan to fill one of he two vacant seats on he NLRB.  Kaplan, who would bring a conservative background to the NLRB, has been promised a speedy confirmation by a Republican Senator Lamar Alexander (who is chairman of the Senate committee which will move Kaplan's nomination along).  Assuming Kaplan gets confirmed, which is quite likely with a Republican controlled Congress, attention will shift to who President Trump will nominate to fill the fifth and final seat on the NLRB.  With a 2 - 2 split among Democratic and Republican leaning Board members, that final nomination could go a long way toward breaking several ties among the Board.  Stay tuned.

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