NLRB provides new guidance on ‘prompt and fair’ settlements

Settlements of unfair labor practice charges appear to be returning to more traditional standards under new guidance from the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) acting General Counsel (GC) William B. Cowen. Unfair labor practice charges have long been resolved mostly through agreed-to settlements with an NLRB regional director during or at the conclusion of an investigation. Under the previous GC, new requirements for settlements were announced that made it significantly more difficult to resolve unfair labor practice charges via settlement. The new guidance—GC Memo 25-06, “Seeking Remedial Relief in Settlement Agreements—is a return to standards that should facilitate settlement rather than hamper agreed-to resolutions.

Focus on facilitating efficient, prompt, and fair settlements

The acting GC’s memo initially discusses the need for “efficiency” in the NLRB’s approach toward settlement of charges, noting that “’if we attempt to accomplish everything, we risk accomplishing nothing.’” To that point, Cowen had already rescinded four memos from the previous GC on remedial relief—GC 21-06, GC 21-07, GC 22-06, and GC 24-04.

In those memos, regional offices had been directed to obtain full remedial relief in settlements of charges, and limits on certain clauses and requirements for certain forms of relief were added. The acting GC’s memo comments that “our remedial enthusiasm” should not “distract us from achieving a prompt and fair resolution of disputed matters.”