NLRB Adds Five Judges as Labor Case Backlog Persists
The National Labor Relations Board appointed five administrative law judges on September 8, adding adjudication capacity to a federal labor-law system that continues to face a significant workload and staffing pressures.
The new judges are David Goldman, Lisa Dunn, Stephanie Cotilla Eitzen, Zuzana Murarova and Steven Wyllie. The NLRB said the appointments restore its judge corps to 30, six fewer than the agency had in mid-2023 after recent retirements.
The agency said the additions are intended to strengthen its ability to address its case backlog and resolve disputes efficiently. They do not guarantee faster decisions in any individual case, and the effect will depend on assignments, hearing schedules and future decision output.
What the new judges do
NLRB administrative law judges hear unfair-labor-practice cases involving workers, unions and employers. They manage hearings, consider evidence and legal arguments, and issue decisions and recommended orders.
The Division of Judges operates nationwide through administrative offices in Washington, D.C., and San Francisco. The agency says its judges docket, hear, settle and decide unfair-labor-practice cases, assigning cases roughly three weeks before trial dates and addressing certain pretrial or subpoena issues.
On occasion, administrative law judges also issue decisions in non-complaint, post-election representation cases. That is different from the NLRB’s broader representation work, which includes investigations and workplace elections handled through the agency’s regional structure.
An administrative law judge’s decision may be appealed to the NLRB in Washington through the filing of exceptions. The decision is not binding legal precedent in other cases unless the Board adopts it on review. If no exceptions are filed, the judge’s order becomes the order of the Board.
Why the appointments matter
For workers and unions, delays can leave alleged labor-law violations unresolved while organizing, bargaining or workplace disputes continue. Employers also face uncertainty when complaints remain pending. More judges can provide additional capacity for cases that reach the hearing stage, but the appointments alone do not establish how much individual wait times will change.
The NLRB’s fiscal year 2027 congressional budget justification shows why the agency continues to describe staffing, workload and backlog as concerns. The agency requested $285.5 million for fiscal 2027, compared with $294.2 million enacted for fiscal 2026. The request is not enacted funding. It was designed to support about 1,149 employees, including work involving investigations, settlements, litigation, adjudication, elections and compliance.
The same budget document says the agency planned to evaluate its workforce to address the current backlog and increased intake levels, while planning hires and staff reallocations to reduce understaffing and knowledge gaps in key positions. It also identifies case-management modernization as a continuing priority.
The NLRB has pursued other backlog measures as well. On May 6, the agency announced the transfer of approximately 3,500 unfair-labor-practice cases among regions. The agency said the cases were moved to balance aging matters and assign them where receiving offices had capacity. That initiative and the September judge appointments are separate actions, but both reflect the agency’s stated effort to move cases through the system more efficiently.
What happens next
The most useful indicators will be the new judges’ hearing assignments, the number and timing of decisions issued, updated backlog data and any additional staffing or budget actions.
For workers, unions and employers with NLRB disputes, the immediate change is increased potential adjudication capacity—not a guaranteed timetable. The practical effect will become clearer as the five judges receive cases and the agency reports whether decision output and pending-case levels improve.
Sources
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