Update – Senate Blocks NLRB’s New Joint-Employer Standard

On Wednesday April 10^th, the Senate voted 50-48 on House Joint Resolution 98 (also known as the Congressional Review Act), which would repeal the National Labor Relations Board’s joint-employer rule.  Following the passing of the bill, this will now be sent to President Joe Biden’s desk for a signature, however he has widely been expected to veto this.

As you may know, the NLRB issued a final rule for the new joint employer standard on October 26, 2023. The new joint-employer rule would have made it much easier for two or more businesses to be determined to be joint employers.  Rather than focusing on the previous “direct control” standard, the new joint-employer rule looked to any type of control over several essential terms of employment, including whether indirect control existed.  This joint employer rule was blocked by a federal judge in Texas on March 8, 2024

An example would be that a franchisor would be a joint employer with a franchisee employee even if the franchisor had indirect or no control over key workplace conditions, including: pay, scheduling, discipline, and supervision.