At a Glance

The Policy Week in Review, prepared by Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute (WPI), sets forth WPI’s updates on federal, state, and local matters.

NLRB General Counsel Intends to Challenge New York Trigger Law

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) Acting General Counsel Bill Cowen stated his intention this week to file suit against the recently enacted New York law that asserts state authority of private sector labor disputes, claiming federal preemption under the National Labor Relations Act. This follows Cowen’s recent statement warning those states seeking to regulate private sector labor relations due to the NLRB’s lack of a quorum that their measures “very likely would be preempted by the National Labor Relations Act” given that states are not permitted to regulate conduct “that the NLRA protects, prohibits, or arguably protects or prohibits” and that this type of legislation cannot be reconciled with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution. New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the bill into law on September 5, 2025. For further information, read our legislative analysis here.

Bipartisan Joint Employer Legislation Introduced

Representatives Kevin Hern (R-OK) and Don Davis (D-NC) on Wednesday introduced the “American Franchise Act” in an effort to codify a joint employer standard specifically for the franchise industry. The bill would amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act to clarify that “A franchisor may be...

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