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Momentum Shift from Union Friendly Continues at NLRB, Part 2

2026-04-23 · 16:09 UTC ·Husch Blackwell ·1 min read

Brief

The Husch Blackwell Labor Law Insider podcast (hosts Tom Godar and Adam Doerr) presents a 2026 update on appellate pushback against the Biden‑era NLRB. They highlight the 6th Circuit’s Brown‑Forman decision restoring the Gissel standard and the 5th Circuit’s Hiran Management ruling narrowing Thryv remedies, and argue these reversals will let employers revise policies and expand supervisory discretion.

Why it matters

In Brown-Forman Corp v. NLRB (6th Cir.), the court reinstated the long-standing Gissel standard, holding the NLRB cannot routinely issue bargaining orders without an election or after a union loss and that the Board lacked authority to create that policy through a decision rather than rulemaking.

Key details

  • In Hiran Management v. NLRB (5th Cir.), the court rejected the broad remedial interpretations adopted in Thryv, ruling those expanded damages were “beyond the text of the NLRA.”
  • Hosts Tom Godar and Adam Doerr (Husch Blackwell) — in the April 23, 2026 podcast episode — argue this appellate momentum will alter NLRA interpretation and give employers greater freedom in drafting policies and exercising supervisory oversight.
Source evidence

In this episode, Labor Law Insider host Tom Godar (https://www.huschblackwell.com/professionals/thomas-godar) , and his special guest, Adam Doerr (https://www.huschblackwell.com/professionals/adam-doerr) , continue to explore the momentum shift away from the extreme interpretations of the Biden-appointed National Labor Relation Board. In part 1, published earlier in April, the focus was on recent decisions of the Board, limiting the reach of the interpretation of authority imposed in decisions such as Thryv.

Adam and Tom continue to offer play-by-play comments in part 2 of this podcast as they discuss the Courts of Appeal whistling fouls committed by the previous Board as it sought to rewrite the rules of the game. In Brown-Forman Corp v. NLRB, the Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit rolled back the clock to the long-standing Gissel standard, limiting the Board’s authority to issue bargaining orders without an election or after a loss of an election by a union. It found that the Board lacked authority to create this new policy through a decision rather than rulemaking. Likewise, the Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit rejected the broad interpretations of possible damages for committing an Unfair Labor Practice under the prior Board’s Thryv decision, ruling in Hiran Management v. NLRB that the broad remedies under that Board decision were “beyond the text of the NLRA.”

Our insiders offer post-game analysis that the momentum shift will not only change the interpretation of the NLRA but will also change ways in which employers craft and interpret policies, and generally provide much greater freedom in applying supervisory oversight for their employees. Join us for part 2 of the Labor Law Insider.

Channel: Husch Blackwell
Published: 2026-04-23
Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQJ7ufrWOv0