On August 26, 2026, NLRB General Counsel Crystal Carey publicly identified the cases in which she is urging the Board to overturn; several significant Biden-era precedents. This could reshape the labor law landscape for employers across the country. With the Board’s Republican majority now at full strength following the seating of its crucial third member, the stage is set for action. Employers should be paying close attention, because these targeted decisions touch on some of the most operationally significant areas of workplace management.
Among the precedent in the General Counsel’s crosshairs are several that dramatically expanded employee protections and union leverage during the Biden administration. Carey has identified pending cases through which she is seeking to overturn including, Amazon.com Services LLC (which restricted employers’ ability to hold mandatory meetings to discuss unionization), McLaren Macomb (which limited the enforceability of certain severance agreement provisions), and Stericycle (which adopted a more employee-friendly standard for evaluating the legality of employer work rules). Beyond those, Carey has also signaled her intent to challenge Cemex Construction Materials Pacific LLC, which lowered the threshold for the Board to issue bargaining orders following employer unfair labor practices during union elections. The GC has also publicly expressed interest in targeting: Thryv, Inc. (required employers to compensate workers for downstream economic harms from labor law violations); Valley Hospital Medical Center II (mandated that employers continue honoring dues-checkoff arrangements after a collective bargaining agreement expires); and, finally, Lion Elastomers LLC (revived a context-dependent test shielding employee misconduct during protected activity.
If the Board moves to reverse these decisions, and the current composition suggests it has the votes to do so, the legal and practical effects for employers could be substantial. A reversal of Stericycle would give employers greater latitude to maintain and enforce workplace conduct policies, handbooks, and rules without the heightened scrutiny that standard imposed. Rolling back McLaren Macomb could restore employers’ ability to include certain non-disparagement and confidentiality clauses in severance agreements. Overturning Amazon would allow employers to once again hold mandatory meetings to communicate their views on unionization, something many management-side practitioners have long considered vital during organizing campaigns. A return to a weightier bargaining-order standard, as Carey has urged in seeking the Board to revisit Cemex, would make it harder for unions to gain recognition without a traditional election. All of which would be positive developments for employers.
Bottom Line
Employer’s should watch these developments carefully and be prepared to take steps to operationalize any new standards.