A federal appeals court ruling this week could tee up U.S. Supreme Court review of a recent National Labor Relations Board doctrine that expanded the monetary damages available to workers affected by unfair labor practices.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld an NLRB order directing Macy’s to pay union members for “direct or foreseeable pecuniary harms” stemming from an unlawful lockout of workers after a strike, pursuant to the board’s 2022 Thryv v. NLRB opinion. In Thryv, the board said it can order such “make-whole relief” beyond backpay and reinstatement, including compensation for credit-card fees, mortgage charges, child care bills and medical expenses.