Back in business: NLRB looks poised to issue new precedent

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) spent most of 2025 without a quorum. Recently, the Senate confirmed additional members, clearing the way for the Board to finally start issuing potentially precedent-setting (or precedent-changing) decisions. On the heels of this, NLRB General Counsel (GC) Crystal Carey (the NLRB’s top lawyer) issued a memo on August 26 previewing her stance on areas of labor law she may seek to change.

Big-ticket items targeted for change

According to a press release from the Board, “The General Counsel explains her positions challenging recent Board precedents and provides direct guidance to filings that demonstrate her views in greater detail. She also highlights controversial decisions that she hopes, in the future, to argue against before the Board.”

The memo itself highlights a number of issues Carey is seeking to have the NLRB revisit, including the following:

• Severance agreements. In 2023, the NLRB issued a ruling that held certain provisions in severance agreements (e.g., confidentiality) can violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).

• Work rules. In another 2023 decision, the NLRB announced a new legal standard that found many common employer policies (e.g., being respectful in the workplace, prohibitions on the use of recording devices, etc.) violate labor law.