Federal appeals courts split on NLRB remedial authority

Two late-October decisions from different federal appeals courts highlight a divide over the scope of the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) remedial powers. The U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals’ Hiran Management decision curtailed the Board’s ability to award broad monetary damages, while the 9th Circuit’s North Mountain Foothills Apartments opinion reaffirmed the Board’s traditional remedies powers.

Background

In its groundbreaking 2022 decision in Thryv, Inc., the NLRB announced it would begin to order damages for “all foreseeable harms” resulting from unfair labor practices. In addition to standard remedies such as reinstatement and backpay, Thryv ushered in potential compensation beyond backpay, including far-reaching awards for expenses such as credit-card interest, missed rent, or childcare costs that workers might incur as a result of an employer’s alleged unfair labor practice.

Since Thryv, the 3rd Circuit disapproved of the Board’s expanded remedial powers in its 2024 NLRB v. Starbucks Corp. decision, while the 9th Circuit upheld the remedial scheme in 2025 in IUOE, Local 39 v. NLRB.

It is in this quagmire that the 5th and 9th Circuits spoke.

Only equitable relief in 5th Circuit