General Counsel memo · United States · National Labor Relations Board

National Labor Relations Board General Counsel lists Board decisions she is asking or plans to ask the Board to overturn

As of our last check on November 2, 2026, this is agency guidance, not a rule. It explains how the agency reads the law and does not create a legal requirement on its own.

Added to AmendSignal

In short

What changed
The General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published memo GC 26-04. It lists positions already taken asking the Board to overturn seven recent decisions, and six more decisions the General Counsel intends to challenge when a suitable case arises.
Who's affected
Employers and unions with cases before the NLRB that involve these issues, especially unionized employers and employers facing organizing. The memo itself is addressed to NLRB regional staff.
What to do
This memo creates no new duties for employers. Current Board decisions still apply, so keep following them while watching for Board rulings on the cases the memo names.

What changed

Who is affected

  • From the sourceHeading
    TO: Regional Directors, Officers-in-Charge,

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    The memo is addressed to the NLRB's regional staff.

  • Our analysisIntroduction
    Regions should continue to investigate the cases and, if justified, pursue prosecution according to extant Board law.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    Employers and unions with pending cases on the listed issues are most directly affected, because the memo tells regions how these cases will be handled and which arguments the General Counsel will make to the Board.

  • Our analysisAnticipated Positions to Present to the Board for Consideration
    which held that an employer’s statutory obligation to check off union dues ends when its collective- bargaining agreement containing a checkoff provision expires.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    Unionized employers with expiring contracts that contain a dues checkoff provision have a particular interest, since the General Counsel would urge a return to the rule that the checkoff obligation ends when the contract expires.

What it means in practice

  • Our analysisIntroduction
    Regions should continue to investigate the cases and, if justified, pursue prosecution according to extant Board law.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    The decisions the memo targets remain current Board law until the Board itself overturns them. Work rules, severance agreements, captive audience meetings and dress codes are still judged under those decisions for now.

  • Our analysisIntroduction
    I am issuing this memorandum to identify cases where I have requested or intend to request the Board to revisit certain precedents.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    If the Board adopts these positions, employers could see looser standards on severance terms, work rules, captive audience meetings, dress codes, bargaining before changes and remedies. The timing depends on Board decisions the memo does not predict.

  • Our analysisIntroduction
    Regions have been, and continue to be, provided with guidance on best practices to use in the settlement, and prosecution, of the cases and issues discussed in the memo.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    Settlement discussions in pending cases may reflect these positions, since regions receive guidance on settlement for these issues.

What to do

Required

This memo is guidance from the NLRB's General Counsel and creates no new legal requirement for employers. It states positions the General Counsel will argue to the Board and tells regional offices to keep applying current Board law.

Worth considering

  • Our suggestionIntroduction
    Regions should continue to investigate the cases and, if justified, pursue prosecution according to extant Board law.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    Consider continuing to apply current Board standards to handbooks, work rules, severance agreements and dress codes, since regions are told to follow current Board law until the Board changes it.

  • Our suggestionAnticipated Positions to Present to the Board for Consideration
    This memorandum may be updated and reissued when arguments are finalized.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    Consider tracking Board decisions in the cases the memo names, and watching for an updated version of this memo.

  • Our suggestionIntroduction
    Regions have been, and continue to be, provided with guidance on best practices to use in the settlement, and prosecution, of the cases and issues discussed in the memo.

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    If you have a pending charge involving one of these issues, consider reviewing with counsel how the General Counsel's positions might affect settlement options.

  • Our suggestionAnticipated Positions to Present to the Board for Consideration
    I disagree with Valley Hospital Medical Center, Inc., 371 NLRB No. 160, (2022)

    Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities

    If you check off union dues under a contract that is expiring, consider keeping current practice in line with present Board law while noting that the General Counsel intends to challenge the Valley Hospital decision.

Open questions

The source leaves these open. We'll update this record if a later document answers them.

  • When will the Board rule on the General Counsel's requests to overturn these decisions?

    The memo states the General Counsel's positions but gives no timeline for Board action, and current law stays in place until the Board acts.

  • What other Board decisions might the General Counsel challenge?

    The memo says it is not a complete list of the General Counsel's positions and may be updated and reissued.

  • What settlement and prosecution guidance have regional offices received on these issues?

    The memo says regions have been given guidance on best practices for settling and prosecuting these cases but does not describe it.

History

  1. Latest · · Issued

    GC 26-04: Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities Source

Sources