Hunton Employment & Labor Perspectives

On November 6, 2025, the Eighth Circuit issued its decision in Home Depot U.S.A. v. NLRB, reaffirming the right of employers to prohibit employees (particularly those in customer-facing roles) from wearing politically-charged insignia on their work uniforms. 

On July 30, 2025, Acting General Counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) William B. Cowen (“Cowen”) issued a General Counsel memorandum providing guidance to the NLRB’s Regional Directors on addressing jurisdictional issues between the NLRB and the National Mediation Board (“NMB”).

On July 7, 2025, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in Apple Inc. v. NLRB (Case No. 24-60242) handed Apple a victory, declining to enforce the NLRB’s ruling that Apple had violated the National Labor Relations Act by unlawfully confiscating union literature left in an employee breakroom. 

On May 5, 2025, an Administrative Law Judge (“ALJ”) for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) ruled that retailer Costco Wholesale Corp. (“Costco”) violated the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA” or the “Act”) when it asked employees involved in an internal investigation regarding sexual harassment allegations to sign a confidentiality agreement prohibiting them from discussing details concerning the investigation. The ALJ’s decision highlights considerations employers ought to take into account when balancing their interests in maintaining the integrity of internal investigations and complying with the NLRA.