Crystal Carey, General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board, has released her clearest statement yet on which Biden-era rulings she intends to challenge or overturn.
GC Memorandum 26-04, titled “Further Guidance Regarding General Counsel Priorities” and issued on August 26, 2026, lays out thirteen areas of Board law Carey wants reconsidered.
Seven of those areas are ones where Carey has already taken formal positions seeking changes, while six more will be challenged when she identifies appropriate cases to bring forward.
The memo arrives at a pivotal moment for the Board, following James Macy being sworn in as the third Republican member on August 7, 2026, cementing a 3-1 Republican majority.
That majority is expected to hold through at least December 16, 2027, giving the GC a receptive Board should she succeed in bringing the right cases forward.
The groundwork for these shifts began before Carey even took office, when Acting GC William Cowen rescinded numerous memoranda issued by former GC Jennifer Abruzzo covering non-competes, electronic monitoring, and expanded remedies.
When Carey took office in January 2026, she prioritised clearing the agency’s backlog rather than issuing the traditional memo on cases requiring submission to the Division of Advice, resulting in the completion of investigations in 9,247 pending cases.
Her tenure also produced more than a 50% reduction in cases awaiting determination in Regional Offices, alongside guidance encouraging settlements and limiting routine pursuit of enhanced remedies.
GC 26-04 now publicly consolidates positions Carey has been signalling through pending cases and Advice memoranda over recent months, bringing her substantive agenda into full view for employers and unions alike.
Among the seven areas where she has already challenged existing precedent are restrictions on confidentiality and non-disparagement provisions in severance agreements, the Board’s standard for consent orders, and the framework for evaluating facially neutral workplace rules.
Carey has also sought to restore the standard permitting employers to require attendance at meetings about unionisation, previously known as captive audience meetings, alongside standards governing employer predictions about unionisation effects.
The six additional areas she plans to contest when appropriate cases arise include bargaining orders, unilateral changes to employment conditions, union dues and fees, protected concerted activity standards, dues-checkoff obligations after contract expiry, and expanded consequential remedies.
Notably, the memo states that it “does not require specific cases to be submitted to the Division of Advice,” raising questions about how the office will identify and prioritise cases to bring these challenges forward in practice.
GC 26-04 does not itself change existing Board law, which remains controlling unless and until the Board formally acts, meaning employers must continue operating under current precedent while Carey seeks appropriate vehicles for change.
Employers may wish to consult legal counsel on whether to preserve challenges to any of the thirteen precedents Carey has identified, particularly given the Republican majority now positioned to act on her positions.