We will likely see a mountain of changes (or at a minimum, activity) on the labor law front in 2026 given the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) finally has a quorum and confirmed General Counsel.
Given that the agency is primed to start issuing decisions again, there are a host of issues companies can expect this Board to have a different perspective on than its predecessor. Here are the top three that I'm watching:
For decades, if a union demanded recognition based on signed union authorization cards, an employer could simply decline recognition, and the union would be required to file an election petition with the NLRB requesting an election. Only if the union won the election and was certified as bargaining representative would the employer be obligated to bargain with the union. The Board's Cemex ruling in 2023 drastically altered this framework and created a system that puts the onus on an employer faced with a “demand for recognition” purportedly supported by a majority of employees to file its own petition with the NLRB, and failure to do so can result in automatic recognition.
Perhaps even more significant, the NLRB held in that case that if an employer commits any unfair labor practices of significance during a union campaign (such as interrogation of employees, for example), then as a penalty the agency can force the company to recognize the union — even if a majority of employees voted against unionization.
In...
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