Compliance Stuff

On February 26, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board  formally reinstated  its 2020 joint-employer standard. This action officially withdraws a Biden-era 2023 rule and restores a narrower framework for determining when two businesses share legal responsibility for the same group of workers. By returning to the 2020 standard, the Board is aiming to settle period of legal uncertainty that has loomed over the business community for years. Closing the Regulatory Gap The Board’s action traces back to a legal defeat. In 2020, the Board adopted a rule setting out its joint-employment standard. Among other things, that standard found joint employment only when two businesses exercised direct and substantial control over the same worker. The Board retreated from that position in 2023, adopting a new rule that allowed j oint employment based only on “indirect” or “reserved” control. But in March 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down the 2023 ru...

Here are the top 10 workplace compliance items you should tackle in January 2026, based on the latest labor and employment law updates: _____ Warm up with a workplace law refresher.  Did you keep up with all the labor and employment law updates in 2025? Take our  2025 Workplace Law Quiz  to brush up on last year’s developments and put yourself in the best position to take on 2026. _____ Look ahead to what 2026 may bring for employers.  Our comprehensive  FP Forecast 2026  report includes workplace law predictions for the new year from our thought leaders across practice areas and industry teams – consider it a roadmap to help you strategize and prepare. Want the top takeaways? Check out  FP’s Top 10 Workplace Predictions for 2026  (and a sneak peek in the graphic below). _____ Double-check January effective dates.  More than 50 new state workplace laws kicked in at the turn of the year, and several “Big Beautiful Bill” provisions that just to...

  When the federal government shuts down,   many agencies   — including the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the “Board”) — scale back and, in some instances, suspend operations. For employers, this can create uncertainty about how to handle labor relations issues when the NLRB is not actively processing cases, conducting elections, or issuing rulings. However, it is critical to remember that the  National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) itself is still in effect . Most private employers,  regardless of whether they are unionized , remain fully bound by its requirements, even if Board enforcement is temporarily delayed. Below are key considerations for maintaining compliance and minimizing risk during this shutdown period. 1. Eligible employees can still engage in protected activity. Even though the NLRB may not be operating at full capacity, employers must continue to respect employees’ rights to engage in protected concerted activity, including union organiz...

  The Board has a quorum again . . . for now. In one of his first acts after taking office, President Trump fired Gwynne Wilcox, a Democratic member of the National Labor Relations Board and former Chairman. I wrote about the Wilcox termination  here  and questioned whether it was valid. Well, according to Judge Beryl Howell of the District of Columbia (an Obama appointee), it isn't. Ms. Wilcox sued the Trump Administration after her termination and moved for summary judgment. In a  decision  issued earlier today, Judge Howell granted Ms. Wilcox's motion and  ordered  that she continues* to be a Member of the Board . *This is not a typo. Judge Howell is saying that Ms. Wilcox never stopped being a Member of the NLRB because her termination was not valid. The judge also denied a motion for summary judgment filed by the Administration and enjoined the Administration from terminating Ms. Wilcox or interfering in the performance of her duties in any way. T...

It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law, especially given the r apid pace at which the Trump administration has been moving on initiatives impacting the workplace and beyond. For the latest changes and a compliance action plan, here’s a quick review of some critical developments we tracked in February and a checklist of the essential items you should consider addressing in March and beyond.   _____ Get primed on Trump’s whirlwind start.   Not to start this recap by pointing you to another one – but we’ve got a lot to cover. The Trump administration’s first few weeks alone included major policy shifts on a wide range of workplace law issues. In case you missed it, here’s our   21-day recap   for employers. _____ Keep refining DEI strategies as changes unfold . The spotlight on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is intensifying. A Maryland federal court   blocked   enforcement of two   anti-DEI executive orders ...

  On November 8, 2024, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) ruled that t elling employees unionization could impact their relationship with their employer may violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) , overturning forty-year-old Board precedent that had held such statements did not violate the Act. Quick Hits The NLRB ruled that employers may violate the NLRA when they tell employees that potential unionization may strip them of their ability to bring issues directly to their employers. The ruling overturns a forty-year-old precedent that allowed businesses to tell employees that the workplace dynamic may change as a result of unionization. Among other claims, the case involved alleged threats by a supervisor that unionization would result in the loss of employees’ ability to address issues with their managers on an individual basis. The NLRB adopted an administrative law judge’s (ALJ) finding that such statements about the impact of unionization on the employees’ abil...