NLRB General Counsel Memo GC 26-03 Resets Enforcement Priorities Affecting Nintendo

NLRB General Counsel Crystal S. Carey issued GC Memorandum 26-03 on Feb. 27, 2026, instructing Regional Offices nationwide to triage unfair‑labor‑practice charges, prioritize early settlement and narrow investigations as part of an effort to address a significant agency backlog. “As we move forward with this new guidance, my office is committed to providing clear and actionable direction for Regional offices to judiciously securing the rights of all American workers,” said General Counsel Carey in the NLRB press release announcing the memo.

The memorandum implements concrete procedural protections for employers that JD Supra / Miller Canfield reports include a requirement that charging parties submit supporting evidence within two weeks of filing a charge and a rule that the NLRB will not issue a formal investigative demand, often called an EAJA or request for evidence letter, until a board agent first determines the charging party’s evidence supports a prima facie case. JD Supra calls those timing rules a notable procedural protection that should reduce burdensome early document demands.

GC 26‑03 also curtails the routine pursuit of so‑called enhanced remedies. JD Supra lists examples that the memo reserves for “genuinely egregious or recidivist situations”: notice readings, public apology letters and nationwide posting requirements. JD Supra adds the agency is actively reviewing pending matters to rescind enhanced‑remedy requests that do not meet the elevated standard set by the memorandum.

Practice‑focused summaries on LinkedIn and commentary at EmploymentLawWorldview interpret the memorandum as shifting enforcement posture. LinkedIn reports that Regions are to continue following Acting General Counsel Cowen’s 2025 guidance memos and says the field should no longer pursue cases to revisit financial damages for refusal to bargain, the need to bargain over discipline during first contract negotiations, or employers’ right to restrict employees’ personal use of company email for Section 7 activity. EmploymentLawWorldview describes GC 26‑03 as unwinding priorities from the prior GC and notes Carey was sworn in as General Counsel in January 2026.

For Nintendo and other game‑industry employers that have faced charges over handbook language, email policies or requests for broad remedies, the practical effects are potentially material. LinkedIn and EmploymentLawWorldview both report a reduced appetite for cases based solely on allegedly overbroad handbook provisions while warning clear violations, such as wage discussion bans, remain targeted. JD Supra frames these shifts as enabling more early resolution opportunities, sometimes even without the charging party’s agreement, and as a signal employers and HR professionals should track.

GC 26‑03 follows GC Memoranda 26‑01 and 26‑02, with HRLawWatch reporting that GC 26‑02 on Jan. 28, 2026 emphasized clearing the backlog rather than pursuing litigation to overturn precedent. HRLawWatch quoted Carey saying the prior approach “delayed justice” by pursuing precedent‑overturning efforts and other aggressive tactics. Companies in the games sector should watch whether Regional Offices implement the two‑week evidence rule and rescind pending enhanced‑remedy requests; JD Supra says the NLRB has already begun active review of pending matters.