Traditional Labor Law Year in Review
2025 was an unusual year for traditional labor law, to say the least. Shortly after the President assumed office, he terminated one of the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) Members, rendering the agency unable to issue binding decisions and immediately triggering a long-simmering constitutional crisis regarding the President’s right to fire NLRB Members without cause. Although the NLRB lacked a quorum, there were developments over the last year. The federal courts issued important decisions applying the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright, consideration of NLRB decisions awarding employees enhanced damages, and other issues. States also stepped up to the plate and enacted legislation (arguably unconstitutional) banning “captive audience” union election campaign meetings and instructing state labor boards to process unfair labor practice and election cases that are under the NLRB’s jurisdiction.
As of December 18, 2025, the NLRB again has a quorum, allowing the agency to once again issue binding decisions. We will talk about some of the most important Biden NLRB precedents that stand to be modified or reversed: captive audience meetings, the Cemex decision and bargaining orders, political activism in the workplace as “protected concerted activity,” the rules applicable to handbooks and workplace rules, severance agreement clauses, and more. We’ll also discuss when that might happen in light of a historical practice by the agency to only change precedent when there are three votes to do so. Join Jonathan Turner, Louis Cannon, Cassandra Horton, Eric Engelman, and Matt Mardesich as they discuss the events of last year and what to expect in 2026.
