The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) started out 2026 by announcing several new procedural protocols and updated guidance and policy goals.… Continue Reading
For a variety of reasons, including confidentiality and protection of trade secrets, many employers maintain policies that prohibit or limit employees from making audio or visual recordings in the workplace. These policies were targeted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) under the previous Administration, which found them unlawful under the employee and union-friendly standard … Continue Reading
For nearly a year, the National Labor Relations Board has lacked a quorum of at least three confirmed members, and thus it has been unable to decide cases arising under the National Labor Relations Act, including unfair labor practice disputes and contested union representation cases. That ended on January 7, 2026, when two President Trump … Continue Reading
The United States Supreme Court recently heard oral argument in Trump v. Slaughter, a case centering on the March 2025 removal of Rebecca Kelly Slaughter as Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”). As the court deliberates, a decision in favor of the government could limit or overturn Humphrey’s Executor v. United States (“Humphrey’s Executor”) … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board is set to regain a quorum of three Members following the Senate’s confirmation of Board nominees Scott Mayer and James Murphy on December 18, 2025. Mr. Mayer is joining the Board from a large aviation manufacturing company, where he served as chief labor counsel. Mr. Murphy is a former Board … Continue Reading
On November 5, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued an opinion in NLRB v. Starbucks Corp., joining with the Third and Fifth Circuits in finding the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) exceeded its authority under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) by ordering an employer to compensate … Continue Reading
Update (10/27/2025) – On October 15, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a lawsuit against the State of California and its Public Employment Relations Board in a California federal court seeking a declaratory judgment and an injunction against California’s recently-passed law regulating private sector labor relations when the NLRB lacks a quorum. The lawsuit … Continue Reading
Update (9/15/2025 4 p.m. ET) – On September 15, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a lawsuit against the State of New York and its Public Employment Review Board in a New York federal court seeking a declaratory judgment and an injunction against New York’s recently-passed law regulating private sector labor relations when the … Continue Reading
The White House has nominated two additional members to the National Labor Relations Board, in a move that should help the Board operate in full capacity soon after it has lacked a quorum for most of this year.… Continue Reading
Squire Patton Boggs Summer Associate Akshey Mulpuri discusses legislative developments in several states attempting to address the current incapacity of the National Labor Relations Board due to lack of a quorum. Since January 27, 2025, when National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) Member Gwynne Wilcox was removed from that position, the NLRB – the … Continue Reading
The National Labor Relations Board’s top enforcement official has issued important guidance, which should make it easier for parties to settle unfair labor practice charges, and which narrows the situations where the Board will seek unique expanded remedies. Background From 2021 to 2024, the Board significantly changed the remedies it sought in ULP cases, and … Continue Reading
For the first—but not last—time, the US Supreme Court weighed in on President Donald Trump’s removal of Gwynne Wilcox, a Biden-appointed National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member (whose removal we discussed in a prior post), and Cathy Harris, a Biden-appointed Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member. Chief Justice Roberts’ April 9 order temporarily stayed the … Continue Reading
President Donald Trump’s removal of Gwynne Wilcox, a Biden-appointed NLRB Member (which we discussed in a prior post), has been reversed by a federal judge. On March 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell held that the President does not have the authority to terminate NLRB Members at will, and thus President Trump’s removal … Continue Reading
Under the administrative scheme established by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA)– the federal law that governs the relationship between employers, employees, and labor unions – the discretion whether to issue an administrative complaint against an employer based on an unfair labor practice charge is held by the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB or Board) … Continue Reading
It’s been a little more than a week since Inauguration Day, but the seismic shifts of presidential change in Washington, D.C. continue, now extending to and impacting the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board). On January 28, President Donald Trump shook up the NLRB with two major personnel decisions: one anticipated, the other unprecedented.… Continue Reading
Not long after the November elections, we discussed potential changes that could come at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) after inauguration day on January 20, 2025. Although it is a virtual certainty that President-Elect Trump will very quickly remove Jennifer Abruzzo from her position as the NLRB’s current General Counsel (the agency’s … Continue Reading
The U.S. political landscape changed dramatically recently, in a way that will significantly impact labor law obligations for virtually all employers in the U.S. Republicans will control the White House and Congress come January, and Republican appointees will control the Supreme Court. By late January, Republican appointees will hold some of the key positions at … Continue Reading
Last week, the Democrat-majority members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) overruled a nearly 40-year old precedent (Tri-Cast), now making it unlawful for employers to explain to employees, even in non-coercive, non-threatening terms, the potential downside of selecting union representation (see our post here). With the election outcome poised to flip the … Continue Reading
Any question whether, in light of the recent election outcome, the Democrat-majority members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) would scale back their high-profile efforts to rewrite federal labor law to favor unions was answered only days after the election, with those members issuing a decision overruling a nearly 40-year-old case that … Continue Reading
We first reported in February 2023 on a surprising and alarming decision by the U.S. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or “the Board”)—In re McLaren Macomb—which concluded that the mere proffer of a severance agreement with broad confidentiality and/or non-disparagement provisions could violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), which protects the … Continue Reading
Over the course of just a few weeks, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) continued its ongoing dismantling of long-standing precedent and rollback of Trump-era procedural rules. First, on July 26, 2024, the Board released the “Fair Choice – Employee Voice” Final Rule, reversing three amendments the Board made in April 2020 to … Continue Reading
Illinois joins a growing list of states prohibiting employers from requiring employees to attend meetings discussing union representation issues. Here’s the scene: President Truman is seeking reelection, and Miracle on 34th Street just snagged three Academy Awards. The Minneapolis Lakers are celebrating their win in the National Basketball League championship (in the team’s inaugural season, … Continue Reading
In today’s divisive climate, political speech in the workplace is a topic of increasing relevance and complexity. While workplace discrimination based on race, gender, religion, age, or disability has long been prohibited, discrimination on the basis of an employee’s political affiliations or beliefs is a more nuanced, often overlooked challenge since it is not among … Continue Reading
It’s never a good sign when a court calls your reasoning “nonsense” or instructs your lawyers to “brush up” on their familiarity with legal doctrines. But that’s exactly what a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did in a decision that overturned the National Labor Relations … Continue Reading
