Overview

• The NLRB filed its complaint on September 12 in the Northern District of New York seeking a declaration of preemption and an injunction against enforcement.
• New York’s amendment, signed September 5, empowers PERB to handle private‑sector disputes unless the NLRB “successfully asserts jurisdiction” through a federal district court order.
• Acting General Counsel William Cowen has called the statute an attack on the Board’s core jurisdiction and warned that similar state measures would almost certainly be preempted.
• The Board currently has only one member and cannot issue decisions, though regional offices continue investigating charges, processing petitions, and conducting elections.
• California’s AB 288 cleared the state Senate on September 10 and awaits further action, Massachusetts has parallel legislation pending, and two presidential nominees to the NLRB await Senate confirmation that could restore a quorum.