National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) Member Gwynne Wilcox is out of a job for the third time in less than four months. Continue Reading Chief Justice Roberts Allows Trump to Remove Wilcox from NLRB as the Supreme Court Considers the Challenge to Her Dismissal
On April 7, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia held that President Trump’s termination of National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) Member Gwynne Wilcox was unlawful. The decision marks the latest round in litigation tug-of-war, reversing a decision reached by a three-judge panel for the D.C. Circuit, and returning to a decision reached by U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell on March 6, 2025. For an in-depth summary of the facts and the constitutional issues at stake, please refer to our initial reports on the district court’s ruling here, and subsequent reversal by the three-judge panel here. Continue Reading Full D.C. Circuit Court Reinstates Wilcox to the NLRB
A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals issued a favorable ruling for President Trump, staying a recent district court decision that ruled his termination of National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) Member Gwynne Wilcox was unlawful. Thus, it appears that the Board again is left without statutory quorum, which under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”) requires at least three members.Continue Reading Split D.C. Circuit Panel Rules Trump Can Remove Wilcox from NLRB – NLRB to Stay Without a Quorum
On March 6, 2025, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell held that Gwynne Wilcox, a former member of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) was “illegally” fired from her job.[1] The court ordered the Board’s current chair to restore her access to the Board and let her serve out the remainder of her five-year term. The Trump administration promptly appealed the decision and is seeking an immediate stay from a federal appeals court.[2] However, in the meantime, Wilcox’s return will give the Board three active members. Thus, for now, it appears that the Board again has a statutory quorum under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or the “Act”) and can resume operating as normal.Continue Reading Federal District Court Reverses Firing of NLRB Member Wilcox – NLRB Returns to Statutory Quorum
As discussed in our recent article, the introduction of SB 399 in California (approved and added as California Labor Code section 1137) sparked significant discussion and concern among California employers with union employees. The legislation, which became effective January 1, 2025, restricts so-called “captive audience meetings” by prohibiting employers from discharging or disciplining employees for refusing to attend mandatory employer-sponsored meetings. Many employers believe the law unnecessarily restrains their ability to communicate effectively and transparently with employees about important issues.Continue Reading Mandatory Captive Rules in Limbo for California Employers – 2 Federal Lawsuits Challenge SB 399 and Looming Issue Before the NLRB
On February 14, 2025, the Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) William B. Cowen issued his first General Counsel Memorandum (“GC Memo”) GC 25-05 rescinding nearly all of the Biden administration General Counsel’s substantive prosecutorial guidance memos, which furthered a pro-union and pro-employee agenda. While these memoranda do not have the weight of law or regulation, they do set out the agency’s priorities and key interpretations of the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”).Continue Reading Acting General Counsel of NLRB Issues First GC Memorandum, Rescinding Controversial Pro-Labor Memoranda
As we have previously reported, from the time President Biden took office, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) began systematically reversing Trump-era policies, and shifting toward increasingly more pro-union and pro-employee policies. These efforts have not been slowed by the impending end of the Biden administration. On December 10, 2024, the NLRB overruled a Trump-era Board decision and returned to an employee- and union-friendly standard for determining when unilateral workplace changes made by an employer are unlawful.Continue Reading NLRB Returns to Union-Friendly “Clear and Unmistakable Waiver” Standard
On September 30, 2024, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 399. Starting January 1, employers are officially banned from holding captive audience meetings—mandatory employer-sponsored meetings that discuss religious or political matters—which are a common and accepted defense against union organizing.Continue Reading Mandatory Captive Audience Meetings Are Banned in California in 2025
Yesterday, August 28th, the Federal Trade Commission (the “FTC”) and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division (the “DOJ”) (the “Antitrust Agencies”), together with the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) and National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”), signed a new agreement (the Memorandum of Understanding or “MOU”) that seeks to enhance the ability of the FTC and DOJ to investigate the impact of mergers and acquisitions on labor markets.Continue Reading U.S. Federal Antitrust Agencies Announce Cooperation Initiative with Labor Agencies in Merger Review
As we have previously reported, from the time President Biden took office, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) began systematically reversing Trump-era policy, and shifting toward pro-union and pro-employee policies. On August 22, 2024, the Board continued that push. This time taking steps to significantly impede the ability of employers to avoid unfair labor practice (“ULP”) charges without resorting to litigation. Continue Reading NLRB Will No Longer Approve Employer Proposed Consent Orders
On August 15, 2024, the Appropriations Committee of the California State Assembly passed SB 399 by a vote of 10–3. The bill had passed the Senate in 2023 and has been with the Assembly since, waiting for action and a vote. Continue Reading California Assembly Committee Revives State’s Captive Audience Meeting Ban