Fred B. Jacob Appointed Chief Counsel to Board Member David M. Prouty

August 27, 2026 David M. Prouty, Member of the National Labor Relations Board, announced today the appointment of Fred B. Jacob as his Chief Counsel. Member Prouty will begin his second five-year term as a Board Member on August 28, 2026. Mr. Jacob replaces David I. Goldman, who is returning to his prior position as an NLRB Administrative Law Judge. Since 2018, Mr. Jacob has served as NLRB Solicitor, the chief legal advisor to the entire Board on its general operations and on major questions of law and policy concerning the adjudication of NLRB cases in federal courts. From 1997 to 2014, Mr. Jacob worked in offices throughout the NLRB, primarily as an attorney, supervisor, and Deputy Assistant General Counsel in the Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Branch. Prior to his appointment as the NLRB's Solicitor, Mr. Jacob spent four years as Solicitor of the Federal Labor Relations Authority, where he represented the FLRA before all federal courts and served as the FLRA’s in-house counsel. Mr. Jacob also clerked for the Honorable Karen J. Williams on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and worked in private practice. Mr. Jacob teaches labor law at the George Washington University Law School and has published articles on the intersection of labor and administrative law in the Boston College Law Review, the U.C. Law Journal, and the Administrative Law Journal. Mr. Jacob received his B.A. from Brandeis University and his J.D. from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law at the College of William and Mary. He is a Fellow of the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers. Member Prouty commented: “Fred Jacob has been an outstanding Solicitor for the Board and its various Members for many years. I am extremely thankful and fortunate that he will now be part of my staff as we continue to work to enforce the Act and the principles of worker rights for which it stands. At the same time, I want to publicly thank David Goldman for his dedicated service and wise advice as my Chief Counsel since 2021, and I wish him the best as he takes up his duties anew as an Administrative Law Judge.”

William B. Cowen Appointed Chief Counsel to Board Member James R. Macy

You are subscribed to Press Releases for National Labor Relations Board. This information has recently been updated, and is now available. William B. Cowen Appointed Chief Counsel to Board Member James R. Macy 08/25/2026 10:37 AM EDT August 25, 2026 WASHINGTON — Today, National Labor Relations Board Member James R. Macy announced the appointment of veteran NLRB official William B. Cowen as his Chief Counsel. Mr. Cowen most recently served as Acting Associate General Counsel for the Division of Operations-Management following his appointment by General Counsel Crystal S. Carey on January 14, 2026. Prior to that, he served as Acting General Counsel of the NLRB following his appointment by President Donald J. Trump in February 2025. Mr. Cowen began his NLRB career in 1979 and held a variety of positions at Headquarters and in the field before entering private practice in 1985. President George W. Bush appointed him to serve as a Member of the Board in 2002, a position he held from January 22 through November 22 of that year. He subsequently served as Executive Assistant (Chief of Staff) to Chairman Robert J. Battista and, from 2006 to 2016, as the Board’s Solicitor. In 2016, Mr. Cowen was appointed Regional Director of Region 21 in Los Angeles, where he served until his appointment as Acting General Counsel in February 2025. “I could not be more pleased to welcome Bill Cowen as my Chief Counsel,” said Member Macy. “Bill’s distinguished career at the Board, serving in numerous leadership roles across the Agency, brings an exceptional depth of knowledge of the National Labor Relations Act and a wealth of institutional experience. I look forward to benefiting from his counsel as we carry out the important responsibilities entrusted to the Board.” Mr. Cowen holds a B.A. in Mathematics from Case Western Reserve University, a Master of Theological Studies from Wesley Theological Seminary, and a J.D. from Cleveland-Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University.

NLRB and New York Agree to Dismiss Lawsuit Based on Permanent Injunction of New York Law Seeking to Usurp Agency Jurisdiction

On September 12, 2025, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) filed a lawsuit in the Northern District of New York, challenging S.8034. This law amended the State Employment Relations Act (SERA) to permit New York’s Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) to oversee private sector union elections and unfair labor practices. Since the NLRB has exclusive jurisdiction over most private sector labor disputes under the NLRA, this legislation is preempted by the NLRA, as detailed in then-Acting General Counsel William Cowen’s September 16 press release. “Misguided legislation such as S.8034A would ultimately undermine the national framework for protecting employees’ rights that has been in place for ninety years,” said then-Acting General Counsel Cowen. Last week, S.8034 was permanently struck down by the Eastern District of New York in parallel litigation, Amazon.com Services LLC v. New York State PERB. That court granted Amazon’s motion for summary judgment, and declared that S.8034A is unconstitutional, null, and void, and permanently enjoined New York’s Public Employment Relations Board from enforcing the amendment. The Eastern District of New York held that the SERA Amendment is squarely preempted by the NLRA, as interpreted in San Diego Building Trades Council v. Garmon, 359 U.S. 236 (1959). “The court’s ruling confirms the position that the NLRB has taken all along - attempts to override NLRB jurisdiction through state law are clearly preempted by federal labor law. While states certainly have important roles in protecting their citizens in other areas, this type of legislation leads to less protection, less consistency in the application of labor law, and runs completely afoul of the United States Constitution,” said General Counsel Crystal S. Carey. Because New York has stipulated that this judgment is fully binding as to all entities and persons, the parties have stipulated to dismiss, without prejudice, the NLRB’s action in the Northern District of New York.