Republican Resigns from US Labor board in Ethics Flap

Terence Flynn resigned as a member of the National Labor Relations Board two months after an investigation found that he allegedly disclosed non-public information about the panel, the agency said on Sunday.

One of two Republicans on the five-member politically embattled board, Flynn was named as a recess, or short-term, appointee by President Barack Obama in January. He submitted his resignation on Saturday in a letter to NLRB Chairman Mark Pearce.

Flynn also requested that his formal nomination to the NLRB, which the Senate has yet to confirm, be withdrawn. His resignation is effective July 24. He will recuse himself from all agency business, his letter said.

"I have determined to move on to other things," Flynn said in his letter.

Flynn was under pressure from congressional lawmakers to step down after NLRB inspector general reports in March and May found that he allegedly violated ethics rules by disclosing non-public information about board deliberations and other activities when he was a top lawyer for the board.

Flynn, who could not be reached for comment, did not address the inspector general findings in his resignation letter. He has said previously that he did nothing wrong, according to published reports.

The board, an independent government agency that addresses union disputes, has become a bitter political battleground ahead of the November presidential election, with Republicans portraying Obama and its three Democratic NLRB appointees as loyal adherents of labor.

Using his power to unilaterally fill vacancies during congressional recesses, Obama named Flynn and two others to the board in January after Republicans refused to support their appointments for Senate confirmation. (Reporting By John Crawley; Editing by Paul Simao)