As we approach the close of the first quarter of 2026, our Labor, Employment & OSHA team highlights some of the leading legal developments and issues that employers face, including the reshaping of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB); artificial intelligence (AI) regulation at the state level; continuing expansion of state paid family and medical leave laws; challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace; and changes to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) guidance and enforcement.
The NLRB spent nearly all of 2025 without a quorum and was largely unable to handle its ordinary work. On December 18, 2025, the US Senate finally confirmed Trump appointees, James Murphy and Scott Mayer, as board members, and Crystal Carey as general counsel (GC), thereby restoring the three-member minimum needed for the Board to issue decisions.
While it will take time for the newly functioning Board to handle its substantial case backlog, employers should expect friendlier standards in 2026 on the following issues:
exporters knowingly avoided U. S. duties on Asian and European flat-rolled steel products, agreeing to pay $19 million to resolve the dispute, according to a press release issued Wednesday by the U...