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Lead NLRB attorney charged with ethics breach in Wal-Mart stock case

Jennifer White Contributor
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National Labor Relations Board acting general counsel Lafe Solomon faces ethics charges after an inspector general report determined he worked on a case involving a company whose stock he owned.

Solomon is the attorney who challenged Boeing in 2011 for opening a nonunion plant in South Carolina and sued Arizona for protecting secret-ballot elections in union organizing.

On Thursday, NLRB Inspector General David Berry released a report charging Solomon with violating the board’s code of ethics by assisting in the investigation of a social media case involving Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Solomon owned more than $18,000 in Wal-Mart stock.

Solomon, who has been the board’s acting general counsel since June 2010, requested a waiver to participate in the Wal-Mart case. After he disclosed his ownership of Wal-Mart stock, ethics officials denied his request. But Solomon participated in a meeting about the case before that decision was reached.

The future of Solomon’s career with the NLRB is unknown, but is reminiscent of former NLRB member Craig Becker who refused to recuse himself from cases involving his former employers, the Service Employees International Union and the AFL-CIO.

“When the Acting General Council willfully disregards the code of ethics, that person needs to resign or be replaced,” Richard Manning of Americans for Limited Government told The Daily Caller.

Solomon has never been confirmed by the Senate, but has the authority to prosecute companies for labor code violations.

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