On June 23, 2026, the New York Court of Appeals issued a significant decision in Walton v. Comfort Systems USA (Syracuse), Inc., answering previously unsettled certified questions from the Second Circuit with important implications for employers performing work on public projects in New York. The Court held that under
Joshua Fox
Joshua S. Fox is a partner in the Labor & Employment Law Department and a member of the Sports, Labor-Management Relations, Class and Collective Actions and Wage and Hour Groups.
As a member of the Sports Law Group, Josh has represented a number of Major League Baseball Clubs in all aspects of the salary arbitration process. Josh also has extensive experience representing professional sports leagues and teams in grievance-arbitration proceedings, and has played a key role in representing professional sports leagues in all aspects of their collective bargaining negotiations with players and officials, including the Major League Baseball, National Hockey League, the National Football League, Major League Soccer, the Professional Referee Organization, and the National Basketball Association. Josh has also represented teams and arenas in all aspects of labor relations involving labor unions representing arena staff.
In addition, Josh has extensive experience representing clients in the performing arts industry, including the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Big Apple Circus, among many others, in collective bargaining negotiations with performers and musicians, the administration of their collective bargaining agreements, and in grievance arbitrations.
Josh also represents a diverse range of clients, including real estate developers and contractors, pipe line contractors, hospitals, hotels, manufacturers and public employers, in collective bargaining, counseling on general employment matters and proceedings before the National Labor Relations Board, New York State Public Employment Relations Board and arbitrators.
Josh also serves as an adjunct professor at Cornell University’s School of Industrial Labor Relations for several years, teaching a course regarding Major League Baseball salary arbitration.
Prior to joining Proskauer, Josh worked for a year and a half at the National Hockey League, where he was involved in all labor and employment matters, including preparations for collective bargaining, grievance arbitration, contract drafting and reviewing and employment counseling. Josh also interned in the labor relations department of Major League Baseball and at Region 2 of the National Labor Relations Board. He was a member of the Brooklyn Law Review and the Appellate Moot Court Honor Society and served as president of the Brooklyn Entertainment and Sports Law Society.
Unions Sue DOL After Being “Blindsided” By Changes to Financial Disclosure Requirements
On June 10, 2026, the AFL-CIO filed suit against the Department of Labor (“DOL”) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia (AFL-CIO v. Sonderling, No. 1:26-cv-02061 (D.D.C.)), challenging a final rule that imposes “sweeping changes” to the financial reporting obligations of labor organizations under the…
Faster is Not Always Better: House Passes Bill Seeking Radical Change in First Contract Bargaining
In a surprise move, on June 9, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Faster Labor Contracts Act (“FLCA”) by a vote of 230-193, sending the bill to the Senate. The legislation—passed without Republican leadership support and via a discharge petition—seeks a dramatic restructuring of the National Labor Relations…
Cemex Status Quo: Ninth Circuit Declines to Address NLRB’s Cemex Standard
On April 21, 2026, in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC v. National Labor Relations Board, Case No. 23-2302 (9th Cir.), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit declined to evaluate the new union-organizing standard adopted by the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”) in Cemex…
Trump’s Latest NLRB Pick Could Swing Biden-Era Precedent
On April 13, 2026, President Trump nominated James Macy to fill the third vacant Republican seat on the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or the “Board”). The President also re-nominated current Democrat NLRB Member David Prouty to serve a second term. The dual split-party nominations—a common political maneuver—may facilitate a…
Cemex Survives: Board Declines Chance to Overturn Novel Representation Framework
On March 25, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision in St. John’s College, Case 28-RM-337949, and declined to overturn the Board’s August 2023 decision in Cemex Construction Materials Pacific, LLC, 372 NLRB No. 130 (2023). Cemex upended 50 years of precedent by establishing a…
Course Change: NLRB Asks Federal Court to Strike Removal Protections
On March 23, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) asked a federal court to declare unconstitutional and sever the provisions in the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) that restrict the President’s ability to remove NLRB Board Members and administrative law judges (“ALJs”). The filing comes in the case…
NIH Withdraws Recognition from Union Representing Grad Students and Postdocs
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has withdrawn recognition from the union representing its postdoctoral and graduate student fellows. In the email announcing the decision, the NIH stated it withdrew recognition because the fellows are not “employees.” Unionization at federal agencies like the NIH is regulated by the Federal Labor…