Employment Law News

Chairman Battista Appoints Harold Datz As His Chief Counsel And Kathleen Nixon As Deputy Chief Counsel

National Labor Relations Board Chairman Robert J. Battista has selected career attorneys Harold J. Datz and Kathleen Nixon as his Chief Counsel and Deputy Chief Counsel, respectively. They supervise the Chairman's professional staff.

Mr. Datz is one of the agency's most accomplished senior attorneys, having served as Chief Counsel for the former Chairman and two other former Board Members. He also previously headed the General Counsel's Division of Advice. He joined the NLRB legal staff in Washington, D.C. in 1965 in what was then the Regional Advice Branch. Two years later he transferred to the Pittsburgh, PA Regional Office (Region 6) as a Trial Attorney. He returned to the Advice Branch as a Supervisory Attorney in 1970.

In 1971, Mr. Datz was appointed Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the Division of Operations-Management, with supervisory responsibility for seven regional offices. In 1972, he was promoted to Deputy Associate General Counsel in the Division of Advice and from 1976-1990 served as head of the Division, which provides legal advice on behalf of the General Counsel to NLRB's Regional Directors in cases involving novel and complex issues. Subsequently, Mr. Datz served as Chief Counsel to Members John N. Raudabaugh (1990-1994), Charles I. Cohen (1994-1996), and Peter J. Hurtgen (1997-2002). Mr. Hurtgen was Chairman from 2001 to 2002.

Ms. Nixon began her career at the Board in 1978, in the Minneapolis, MN Regional Office (Region 18). She left the NLRB in 1980 for the private practice of labor law. Following her return to the agency in 1982, Ms. Nixon worked in the Division of Advice. In 1986, she transferred to the Board side of the agency where she successively served as legal assistant, supervisor, and Executive Assistant to Chairman Hurtgen.

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	Did You Know?
	About Wrongful Termination employment Wrongful termination is a term that generally refers to a person being fired illegally. Many terminations that people think of as "wrongful" aren't illegal. In most states, employment is "at will". This means that the employer can fire the employee for no reason or any reason. However, there are two main reasons why a termination may be illegal- discrimination and contracts.