Labor News & Commentary July 23 observers predict a "lost year" for new precedent at the NLRB & more

[Omaha Steve]

https://onlabor.org/july-23-2025/

By Henry Green

Henry Green is a student at Harvard Law School.

In today’s News and Commentary, observers predict a “lost year” for new precedent at the NLRB and cases are dismissed as a work stoppage among court-appointed lawyers in Massachusetts continues.

Observers predict a “lost year for substantive change” at the NLRB, Bloomberg Law reports, as Trump-appointed Board members will lack the three votes typically needed to overturn precedent – even if the Senate approves Trump’s nominees. Per the article, Trump nominees Scott Mayer (chief labor counsel at Boeing) and James Murphy (a career NLRB lawyer) do not have a plausible timeline to join the Board before current Chair Marvin Kaplan’s term expires. Assuming both are confirmed by the Senate, they would join David Prouty, a Biden appointee unlikely to vote with them to overturn precedent. Prouty’s term does not expire until August 2026. A divided three-member Board could test the durability of the norm requiring three votes to overturn precedent, the article suggests. Mark Gaston Pearce, the Board chair during the Obama administration, predicted that Murphy “would be loyal about that norm,” though he cautioned that “all bets are off” as the executive branch moves to exercise greater influence over the Board. Lauren McFerran, the chair under Biden, disputed the “lost year” framing, arguing that Trump’s firing of Gwynne Wilcox and assertion of direct control of the Board have made this a “year of dramatic change.”

The article notes that Trump could have filled two open Board seats at the start of his second term, creating a 3-2 Republican majority. Instead, the President left the positions open and fired Gwynne Wilcox, leaving the Board without a quorum. The Board has not issued a decision since late March, when Wilcox temporarily rejoined. As a result, Biden-era Board rulings remain in place. In contrast, Acting General Counsel William Cowen moved to rescind dozens of guidance memos within the first few weeks of the administration.

FULL story at link above.