On March 25, President Donald Trump nominated Crystal Carey, a partner at a large management-side law firm, to be general counsel (GC) of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the Board). While Carey must be confirmed by the Senate, the move arguably signals a continued management-friendly shift by the NLRB.
Although Carey spent eight years as an attorney with the NLRB, she has criticized the Board's recent precedent-shattering decisions barring employers from telling employees that unionization will negatively impact their relationship with management (Siren Retail Corp. d/b/a Starbucks, 373 NLRB No. 135 (2024)) and abolishing captive audience meetings (Amazon.com Services LLC, 373 NLRB No. 136 (2024)).
If Carey is confirmed, we expect her to steer the NLRB and its prosecution of cases in an employer-friendly direction, including by continuing to rescind memoranda setting out the agenda of former GC Jennifer Abruzzo, a nominee of former President Joe Biden, and looking for cases where the Board can reverse Biden-era decisions. In February, current Acting GC William Cowen rescinded numerous Abruzzo-issued GC memoranda regarding, among other things, available remedies for unfair labor practices (GC 21-06 and GC 21-07), student-athletes' collective bargaining rights (GC 21-08), electronic and algorithmic employee monitoring (GC 23-02), severance agreements (GC 23-05) and noncompete agreements (GC 23-08 and GC 25-01).
Cowen will continue to fill the GC role unless and until Carey is confirmed. Much like Biden did when he first came into office, Trump appointed Cowen after discharging Abruzzo and her former deputy, then-Acting GC Jessica Rutter.
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