Philip A. Miscimarra is the former Chairman of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Phil leads the firm’s NLRB special appeals practice and is co-leader of Morgan Lewis Workforce Change, which manages all employment, labor, benefits, and related issues arising from mergers, acquisitions, startups, workforce reductions, and other types of business restructuring. He represents clients on a wide range of labor and employment issues, with a focus on labor-management relations, business acquisitions and restructuring, and employment litigation. Phil is also a Senior Fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and the Wharton Center for Human Resources.
Phil was appointed to the NLRB by President Barack Obama on April 9, 2013 and was approved unanimously by the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions on May 22, 2013. He was confirmed by voice vote in the US Senate on July 30, 2013, and served from August 7, 2013, to December 16, 2017. Phil was named chairman of the NLRB by President Donald J. Trump on April 24, 2017, after previously serving as acting chairman and a board member. Currently, Phil is also serving a six-year term on the USMCA Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board created pursuant to the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (the successor to NAFTA), which was adopted with broad bipartisan approval in Congress.
Phil is the author or co-author of several books involving labor law issues, including The NLRB and Managerial Discretion: Subcontracting, Relocations, Closings, Sales, Layoffs, and Technological Change (2d ed. 2010) (by Miscimarra, Turner, Friedman, Callahan, Conrad, Lignowski and Scroggins); The NLRB and Secondary Boycotts (3d ed. 2002) (by Miscimarra, Berkowitz, Wiener and Ditelberg); and Government Protection of Employees Involved in Mergers and Acquisitions (1989 and 1997 supp.) (by Northrup and Miscimarra); and other publications. On numerous occasions, he has also testified on labor and employment law issues in the United States Congress.
Chambers USA named Phil one of the leading lawyers for employment law in the United States from 2004 to 2012, based on the views of clients, peers, and other industry professionals. He has been described as a "fantastic lawyer" and "prolific writer," with clients admiring his "multilayered abilities and business savvy" and his "high level of integrity."
Phil is one of the most prominent labor and employment lawyers in the United States, based on his experience as a litigator, strategic advisor, and policymaker, both in private practice and as former Chairman and Board Member on the NLRB. He has participated in many important labor and employment law cases, with many decisions reflecting his majority, dissenting and concurring opinions at the NLRB.
Prominent NLRB cases in which Phil participated, either in the majority or in separate dissenting or concurring opinions, include the following:
Prominent cases in which Phil represented clients in private practice include the following:
MVP, Employment, Law360 (2023)
Member, USMCA Independent Mexico Labor Expert Board (six-year term: 2020–2026)
Ranked, Labor & Employment, District of Columbia, Chambers USA (2023, 2024)
Member, Practice Group of the Year, Employment, Law360 (2019)
Listed, The Best Lawyers in America, Labor Law – Management, Washington, DC (2020, 2023–2025)
Recommended, Labor and employment: Labor-management relations, The Legal 500 US (2019–2024)
Senior Fellow, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, the Wharton Center for Human Resources
Fellow, College of Labor and Employment Lawyers
Labor & Employment Star, Midwest, Benchmark Labor & Employment (2018)
Recognized, Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business (2004–2012, prior to appointment to the NLRB)
Member, American Bar Association