There are two major government agencies that impact the lives of workers everyday, and they’re missing a bunch of top dogs.

The National Labor Relations Board, NLRB, has had three vacancies on its five-member body for more than a year.

And the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, EEOC, is short two people on its five-person governing group.

President Obama has announced two appointments for the NLRB but supposedly no paper work has been filed yet and the process of confirmation take months after that. And there are no nominations for EEOC commissioners.

Maybe you’re thinking these agencies have been operating so long without the required number of members so what’s the big deal.

Well, both these government entities make decisions that have far-reaching affects on all of us.

Just yesterday, the EEOC announced its three members had voted on a long-awaited revision of rules to conform with amendments to Americans with Disabilities Act. It took five months for the short-handed commission to vote on the rules that make it easier for workers to fight workplace discrimination based on their disability. The amendments to the ADA known as the ADA Amendments Act were passed earlier this year because many court rulings over the years had diluted the intention of the ADA, which was to protect the rights of people with disabilities.

The vacancies on the NLRB are an even bigger issue, because the cases they oversee are so time sensitive. The NLRB is an independent government agencies that oversees union elections and also deals with labor disputes.

With only two board members, many rulings have been in legal limbo.

This from a Kiplinger.com labor blog:

On May 1, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington ruled that a decision by the two members doesn’t count because the board lacked a quorum. On the same day, a federal appellate court in Chicago took the opposite view, holding that a separate decision taken by the two members was appropriate and binding.

With the courts at odds, confusion reigns.

Confusion is the last thing workers need right now, especially with so many companies in a cost-cutting frenzy that’s often left employee rights on the recessionary trash heap.

Come on President Obama. I know you’re busy, but if you want to ensure working people get a fair shake you need all the key players at the worker-right’s table.