Areas of expertise
Labor and employment law • Collective bargaining • Union organizing • Regulatory policy
Biography
Celine McNicholas is EPI’s director of government affairs and labor counsel. An attorney, her current areas of work include a wide range of workers’ rights issues, including labor and employment law, collective bargaining, and union organizing. She was a core member of EPI’s Perkins Project on Worker Rights and Wages Policy Watch, an online resource that tracked federal actions affecting working people and the economy during the first year of the Trump administration. McNicholas continues to monitor and analyze the Trump administration’s labor and employment policies.
Before joining EPI in 2017, McNicholas served as director of congressional and public affairs and as special counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). At the NLRB, she counseled presidential nominees to the board and the general counsel throughout the Senate confirmation process. In addition, McNicholas was responsible for the agency’s congressional affairs work including all agency oversight matters. From 2009 to 2013, she served as senior labor counsel to Ranking Member George Miller (D-Calif.) for the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and the Workforce. She advised Rep. Miller on legal issues surrounding the Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act, Civil Rights Act of 1964, Davis Bacon Act, Service Contract Act, and project labor agreements. Before working for the committee, McNicholas was a legislative staffer for both U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak from Pennsylvania and U.S. Rep. Niki Tsongas from Massachusetts.
A native of Philadelphia, McNicholas is an avid baseball fan, amateur baseball historian, and runner.
Education
J.D., Villanova University School of Law
B.A., Mount Holyoke College
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By banning mandatory arbitration clauses and class and collective action waivers, Congress could restore a fundamental workers right
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The new Democratic House should make worker empowerment a priority
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News from EPI › EPI supports new legislation banning mandatory arbitration in labor and employment matters
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EPI comments regarding reassignment of Medicaid provider claims
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Letter to the House Committee on Education and the Workforce opposing the Workflex in the 21st Century Act
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Janus decision is not about union finances—it’s about working people’s finances
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News from EPI › In 5-4 decision, Supreme Court undercuts workers’ freedom to organize
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How the Supreme Court could rule against working people
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News from EPI › In Epic Systems Corp. decision, the Supreme Court deals a significant blow to workers’ fundamental rights
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Ending individual mandatory arbitration alone fails most workers: For real worker power, end the ban on class and collective action lawsuits
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The Workplace Democracy Act restores workers’ bargaining power
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News from EPI › Congress should pass bill with protections for tipped workers
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Congress should set the standard in being a good employer
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Two billion dollars in stolen wages were recovered for workers in 2015 and 2016—and that’s just a drop in the bucket
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Supreme Court will decide if women can join together to fight sexual harassment at work
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What’s at stake in the states if the 2016 federal raise to the overtime pay threshold is not preserved—and what states can do about it: State action to modernize overtime rules (research report)
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State action to save workers’ overtime pay: Fact sheet for “What’s at stake in the states if the federal raise to the overtime pay threshold is not resurrected—and what states can do about it”
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Specific policy and legislative guidance for updating state overtime protections: State action to modernize overtime rules (policy guidance)
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Veterans fought for the right to collectively bargain—Congress should defend it