Phil Wilson on why the latest NLRB confirmations matter to employers
In a recent SHRM article, Newly Confirmed Members Reshape The NLRB, LRICS CEO and General Counsel Phil Wilson gave his insights on the recent NLRB confirmations. In the process, Wilson explained why these confirmations are anything but routine. Rather, James Macy’s entrance on the Board (David Prouty was also reconfirmed) could lead to significant policy changes.
Additionally, these confirmations follow an unusually turbulent 18 months at the Board. Trump’s firing of Gwynne Wilcox in Jan. 2025 left the NLRB without a quorum for nearly a year. In Jan. 2026, GOP members James Murphy and Scott Mayer’s confirmations restored Board quorum, but Murphy and Mayer followed tradition in declining to overturn Biden-era precedent without a third GOP member present.
With this month’s confirmations, James Macy’s presence opens the door that could topple the Biden Board’s decisions. Not so fast, though:
- Don’t expect quick movement on overturning precedent: Many decisions are poised to be overturned, but as Wilson points out, “Board precedent gets overturned case by case, which means you need an active dispute in front of the Board before a given rule falls.”
- Which potential overturning matters most? That would be Cemex. As Wilson detailed, this Biden-era decision “dramatically lowered the bar for bargaining orders and has already been treated with skepticism by Circuit courts of appeal. That’s the case most likely to fall early.”
Read more of Wilson’s insight at SHRM: Newly Confirmed Members Reshape the NLRB
