Changes that National Labor Relations Board general counsel Crystal Carey laid out to case handling processes last week could ease the path to settlement and rein in the investigation of alleged rules violations, attorneys said, the latest move from the agency's new top prosecutor turning away from Biden-era practices.
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Former NLRB general counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, who served during the Biden administration and was fired by Trump in January 2025, had instructed regions to seek "full relief" in settlements, a practice that management-side attorneys said made it harder to settle disputes. William Cowen, who served as acting general counsel for the better part of a year after Abruzzo's firing, instructed prosecutors to narrow their remedy requests in settlements in May.
Daniel Sobol, a partner at Blank Rome LLP who represents employers, said the apology letters, nationwide notice postings and notice readings were often big impediments in settlements because employers saw them as intrusive or logistically complicated. Notice readings and apology letters also undermined nonadmissions clauses employers might have negotiated in agreements, Sobol said, and scaling back those remedies should help settle more cases.
"I really do believe that her statement about abandoning some of the enhanced remedies, except for recidivist violators, will facilitate settlements," Sobol said.
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"NLRB GC Aims for Narrower Approach to Work Rule Probes," by Tim Ryan was published in Law360 Employment Authority on March 3, 2026.
