Similar to many changes in administration, the 2025 labor and employment landscape was defined by fragmentation followed by realignment. Federal agency authority faced significant constitutional challenges, while states and cities accelerated their own legislation on pay transparency, paid leave, and hiring practices. This year-end update provides insight into the most consequential developments for employers, focusing on the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) shifting authority, new standards for employer liability, heightened scrutiny of artificial intelligence (AI), and a wave of new state and local mandates. Employers with multijurisdictional footprints should address these changes to refine and update compliance roadmaps for 2026.
NLRB Authority and Leadership in Flux
A divided D.C. Circuit panel held in Wilcox v. Trump, et al., No. 25-5057 (D.C. Cir. Dec. 5, 2025) that statutory “for-cause” removal protections for NLRB members are unconstitutional because the Board exercises substantial executive power. The ruling deepens a circuit split on the scope of executive power over independent agencies, and its ultimate resolution is expected to be determined by the Supreme Court based on its conflict with other appellate readings of longstanding Supreme Court precedent on independent agencies. In practical terms, the D.C. Circuit’s decision heightens uncertainty about Board leadership stability and could accelerate policy swings with changes in administrations.
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The Trump administration is reviewing diversity-related initiatives at major U.S. companies using a federal civil law that allows the government to recover money lost through fraud, according to r...