US Labor Law Shifts Under New NLRB GC and Circuit Court Rulings
A new National Labor Relations Board general counsel memo, a Second Circuit ruling on union insignia, and new state-level gig worker bargaining laws signal significant changes for employers.
A series of recent developments signals a significant shift in U.S. labor law. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) General Counsel Crystal Carey issued a memorandum outlining her intent to challenge numerous Biden-era precedents on topics like severance agreements, work rules, and union organizing. This memo offers a roadmap for the policy reversals expected from the Board's new Republican majority. In a related development, the Second Circuit rejected the NLRB’s Tesla standard for dress codes restricting union insignia, remanding the case for a more balanced approach that weighs employer interests. Concurrently, some states are expanding labor rights for workers outside federal protection. California and Illinois have created state-run collective bargaining frameworks for rideshare drivers classified as independent contractors. This emerging state-level regulation may face federal preemption challenges, as seen in a New Jersey federal court ruling that the National Labor Relations Act preempts the state’s cannabis-industry “labor peace agreement” law, which is now on appeal. Counsel should monitor cases reaching the NLRB that touch on the topics in the GC's memo and track the progress of related appellate litigation.