News

🗞️ NLRB Resumes Operations: Senate Confirms Three Nominees to Restore Board Functionality

On December 18, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed three nominees to the National Labor Relations Board by a 53-43 vote, enabling the agency to resume normal operations after nearly 11 months of disruption.

onthelaborfront

23 Dec 2025 — 6 min read

The National Labor Relations Board regained operational capacity on December 18, 2025, following Senate confirmation of President Trump's nominees: James Murphy as Board Chairman, Scott Mayer as Board Member, and Crystal Carey as General Counsel. The confirmations ended an unprecedented period of nearly 11 months during which the Board lacked the three-member quorum necessary to issue decisions on workplace disputes, leaving employers and employees alike without final resolution of pending cases.

Background: The Path to Quorum Loss

The Board's operational crisis began January 27, 2025, when President Trump removed Board Member Gwynne Wilcox from office. Wilcox, who had been confirmed by the Senate in 2021 for a term extending to 2028, characterized her removal as illegal and filed suit in federal court. Trump simultaneously removed General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo, whose position lacks statutory removal protections.

With two Board seats already vacant (including one due to Lauren McFerran's term expiration on December 16, 2024), Wilcox's removal initially left two members: Republican Chairman Marvin Kaplan and Democrat David Prouty. When Kaplan's term expired August 27, 2025, only Prouty remained. Federal law and Supreme Court precedent require at least three Board members to constitute a quorum for decision-making.

During the period without a quorum (nearly 11 months from January 27 to December 18, 2025), the Board could not:

Issue final decisions on unfair labor practice allegations
Certify workplace representation election results
Resolve jurisdictional or bargaining unit disputes
Review Administrative Law Judge determinations

Administrative Law Judges continued conducting hearings and Regional Offices processed incoming cases, but all matters requiring Board-level adjudication accumulated in a growing backlog affecting both employers and employees seeking resolution.

Confirmed Officials and Their Backgrounds

James Murphy (Board Chairman) – A career NLRB attorney with institutional knowledge spanning multiple administrations, Murphy served as Chief Counsel to Board Member Marvin Kaplan beginning in 2017. His extensive experience with Board procedures and labor law interpretation positions him to lead the agency's restoration to full operational capacity. Term expires December 16, 2027.

Scott Mayer (Board Member) – Currently Chief Labor Counsel at Boeing Company, Mayer brings practical experience managing workplace relations at major corporations including InterContinental Hotels Group, MGM Resorts International, and Aramark. His background includes partnership at Morgan Lewis & Bockius, a prominent management-side labor law firm. Senate consideration of his nomination experienced delays during a labor dispute at Boeing. Term expires December 16, 2029.

Crystal Carey (General Counsel) – Partner at Morgan Lewis & Bockius with eight years of prior NLRB experience as Regional field attorney, Office of Appeals counsel, and senior counsel to Board Member Philip Miscimarra. As General Counsel, Carey serves as the agency's chief prosecutor and enforcement policy architect. During confirmation proceedings, she identified opportunities to streamline case processing and reduce regulatory burdens while maintaining worker protection. Four-year term.

Reconstituted Board Structure

The Board now consists of three members:

James Murphy (Republican, Chairman) – Term expires 2027
Scott Mayer (Republican) – Term expires 2029
David Prouty (Democrat) – Term expires August 27, 2026

This composition creates a Republican majority while maintaining the Board's traditional bipartisan structure. Two seats remain vacant. The statutory framework requires three affirmative votes to overturn established Board precedent, meaning substantial precedent modifications will likely await appointment of additional members or Prouty's term expiration in August 2026.

Expected Operational Changes

General Counsel Enforcement Approach: General Counsel Carey's prosecutorial discretion shapes which cases advance and what legal theories receive Board consideration. Her stated priorities include:

Reviewing and potentially rescinding advisory memoranda that may have exceeded statutory authority
Ensuring protected activity standards align with statutory text and congressional intent
Calibrating remedies to match actual workplace harm while maintaining deterrent effect
Streamlining case processing to reduce backlog and provide timely resolution

Board Adjudication Priorities: The reconstituted Board can immediately:

Issue decisions resolving the accumulated case backlog
Review election procedures to ensure fair, timely representation votes
Examine workplace policy standards for clarity and predictability
Assess employee classification frameworks affecting independent contractors
Evaluate rules governing employer-employee communication during organizing campaigns

Implications for Workplace Stakeholders

For Employers: The restored quorum enables resolution of pending disputes and provides greater regulatory clarity:

Pending cases can proceed to final Board determination
Workplace policy guidance becomes more predictable and stable
Election procedures may receive clarification benefiting all parties
Reduced exposure to evolving legal theories that created compliance uncertainty

For Employees: Restored Board operations provide several benefits:

Access to final adjudication of workplace rights disputes
Clearer understanding of protected workplace activities
Timely resolution of representation questions through certified elections
Stable enforcement environment for addressing legitimate workplace concerns

For Direct Employer-Employee Relations: The Board's restoration supports workplace stability by:

Providing neutral forum for resolving disputes without prolonged uncertainty
Enabling timely elections when employees seek representation changes
Establishing clear boundaries for lawful workplace policies and communications
Supporting productive workplace relationships through balanced enforcement

For Third-Party Representatives: Organizations seeking to represent employees will operate under:

Established procedures for demonstrating employee support
Clear standards for lawful organizing activity
Timely election processing through Regional Offices
Defined frameworks for bargaining obligations if employees choose representation

Pending Legal Challenges

Former Member Wilcox's removal remains subject to federal court litigation. Her lawsuit argues the removal violated statutory protections limiting presidential removal of Board members to cases of "neglect of duty or malfeasance in office"—neither of which was alleged. Court resolution of this matter could affect Board composition.

Separately, several employers including Amazon, SpaceX, and Trader Joe's have filed lawsuits challenging the NLRB's constitutional structure. These cases argue that Board member removal protections and Administrative Law Judge insulation from presidential control violate separation of powers, and that Board adjudication denies Seventh Amendment jury trial rights. These constitutional challenges could fundamentally alter the agency's structure or operations.

Historical and Policy Context

The nearly 11-month period without a quorum represents the longest operational disruption in the Board's 90-year history. No prior president had removed a sitting Board member mid-term until January 2025, making Wilcox's termination unprecedented regardless of its ultimate legal resolution.

The confirmations occur amid broader debate about the proper scope of NLRB enforcement. The Board's statutory mandate under the National Labor Relations Act directs it to:

Protect employees' rights to self-organization and collective bargaining
Protect employees' rights to refrain from such activities
Prevent and remedy unfair labor practices by employers or labor organizations
Conduct secret-ballot elections regarding union representation

Tension arises when interpreting these sometimes competing mandates. The previous Board majority issued numerous decisions expanding the scope of protected concerted activity, narrowing employer communication rights, and broadening joint-employer liability—decisions that some employers argued exceeded statutory authority while labor organizations viewed as fulfilling the Act's protective purposes.

The new Board majority may take different interpretive approaches, potentially:

Emphasizing employee choice and individual rights alongside collective action protections
Interpreting protected activity standards consistent with statutory text
Balancing employer speech rights against employee organizing rights
Clarifying joint-employer standards to match modern business relationships
Ensuring remedies address actual harm without creating punitive effects

These adjustments would not eliminate worker protections but rather recalibrate their scope to balance competing statutory objectives and constitutional considerations.

Key Points

Senate confirmed three NLRB nominees December 18, 2025 in 53-43 vote, ending nearly 11 months of operational disruption
James Murphy confirmed as Board Chairman, Scott Mayer as Member, creating Republican majority with Democrat David Prouty
Crystal Carey becomes General Counsel, leading enforcement and prosecution functions with focus on efficiency
Board can resume issuing decisions after being unable to function since January 2025 removal of Member Gwynne Wilcox
Three-vote requirement for precedent reversal means major policy shifts likely delayed until additional appointments
Case backlog can now be resolved, providing closure for employers and employees with pending disputes
Restored quorum benefits all stakeholders by enabling timely adjudication and regulatory clarity
Wilcox removal remains in federal court litigation as potentially unlawful termination without statutory cause
Prouty's term expires August 2026, creating potential for additional Board appointments
Constitutional challenges pending from multiple employers could reshape or restructure the agency
Enforcement priorities expected to shift toward balanced interpretation of competing statutory mandates
Election procedures may be clarified, benefiting employees, employers, and representatives in organizing situations
Longest quorum crisis in NLRB history demonstrates unprecedented disruption to workplace dispute resolution
Murphy's institutional knowledge and Mayer's practical experience bring complementary perspectives to Board decisions
General Counsel controls prosecutorial discretion, determining case selection and legal theory development
Stable regulatory environment enables employers and employees to understand workplace rights and obligations