On Aug. 7, 2026, the U.S. Senate confirmed James Macy and David Prouty to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). With Macy joining Chairman James Murphy and Member Scott Mayer, Republicans now hold a 3-1 majority on the four-member Board (one seat remains vacant) and, consequently, also control enough votes to potentially unwind several signature Biden-era decisions.
Commentators have begun speculating which decisions may be reversed. The Board’s 2022 decision in Starbucks Corp., which held that an employee’s secret recording of workplace conversations can be protected activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act, even where the recording violates state wiretapping law, is on the shortlist. Employers have countered that expansive recording rights invade workplace privacy and put confidential business and customer information at risk. A new majority may revisit that reasoning.
Also viewed as vulnerable: Amazon.com Services LLC (the 2024 ruling banning mandatory “captive audience” meetings); Stericycle, Inc. (the employee-friendly standard under which even facially neutral handbook rules could be found unlawful); and McLaren Macomb (which narrowed the use of confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in severance agreements).
The timing of potential reversals remains uncertain. Remember, the Board can only act on the cases that come before it. But if the new majority moves the way many expect, the coming year could bring the most significant swing in NLRB policy since 2023. Keep an eye on future newsletter segments for further updates, and start making your next-steps plans now, including identifying how you can best respond to changes in the law and their impacts on your handbook policies, workplace rules and agreement templates.
