With quorum restored, NLRB General Counsel makes her priorities clear

On August 26, 2026, National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel (GC) Crystal S. Carey issued Memorandum GC 26-04 with the subject line, “Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities.” The memo announces her plan to seek to overturn 13 decisions issued by the NLRB during the Biden era. The GC’s desire to overturn Biden-era precedent shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Now that the NLRB finally has a quorum and a 3-1 Republican majority, however, she might have the means to make her desire a reality.

With that in mind, let’s look at a few of the decisions the GC is targeting and the possible impact that overturning them might have for employers.

Severance agreements

In the 2023 decision McLaren Macomb, the NLRB held that severance agreements containing broad confidentiality or nondisparagement provisions prohibiting an employee from making unflattering public statements about the employer or disclosing the terms of the severance agreement violate Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRB held its decision would be applied retroactively.