NLRB Operations Chief Warns Agency Stretched Thin, 17,000 Open ULP Investigations

William Cowen, the National Labor Relations Board’s operations-division chief, told labor lawyers at an American Bar Association conference in Hawaii on March 3, 2026 that the agency is contending with roughly 17,000 open unfair labor practice investigations, including nearly 10,000 that have been pending review for more than six months. “We have to slog through 10,000 new cases that are over six months old and a total of over 17,000 open investigations, and we need everyone’s help,” Cowen said.

The size of the backlog is stark against the Board’s normal caseload: the NLRB typically processes about 20,000 ULP cases per year, meaning clearing the lingering investigations would represent roughly half of the agency’s annual production. Cowen framed that math in describing why the agency is changing how it assigns and processes cases.

To attack the backlog, Cowen said the NLRB will pursue more “load balancing” across regional offices so work from the most backlogged offices is shifted to regions with capacity, citing teleworking during the pandemic as proof the agency can handle remote work. “That kind of stuff is going to happen. It’s not tomorrow, but it’s in the works,” he told the conference audience.

The agency has already adopted a new docketing protocol that Cowen called the “most dramatic change” enacted: new charges will land on an unassigned case list until a regional staffer is available to handle them. Cowen also said the agency is considering whether it can reduce the number of affidavits taken during investigations, because affidavits “may not be necessary and they consume a lot of resources.”

Cowen linked the operational moves to broader resource pressures inside the agency. He said the general counsel issued a guidance memo instructing regions to dial back how aggressively they pursue allegations about unlawful employer rules, a change Cowen attributed to the need to be judicious in the face of limited resources.

The personnel and budget backdrop is changing as well. Cowen, who served as acting general counsel during 2025, began overseeing the department that manages regional offices shortly after Crystal Carey took over as general counsel in January. Separately, Labor Relations Ink reported that the government shutdown “did not help matters” and that the NLRB’s budget decreased by 4.7 percent for 2026, a context that publication summarized by saying “the agency’s ULP backlog is no joke.”

For restaurant owners, managers, workers, and union representatives, the combination of a roughly 17,000-case backlog, new unassigned-case handling, fewer affidavits, and guidance to temper enforcement of employer-rule claims signals slower investigative timetables and changes in how quickly ULP allegations are resolved. Cowen’s public appeal for assistance and operational changes mark the agency’s attempt to triage an unusually large workload while under staffing and budget strain.