Blog » Congress: Pass Legislation to End Joint Employer ASAP

Congress: Pass Legislation to End Joint Employer ASAP

In August 2015, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) finalized a ruling that radically expanded the definition of what an “employer” is in the context of labor regulations—and in the process created a massive headache for small businesses, as well as the entire U.S. economy. This “joint employer” rule can force millions of small businesses into costly labor negotiations, making it incredibly difficult for them to run their businesses effectively, stimulate growth, and create jobs.

More specifically, the NLRB joint employer decision mandated that two or more businesses — fully separate legal entities — could be classified as joint employers for union organizing purposes if they share liability or even indirect control responsibility for one or more employees (that’s right, joint employer can be invoked even if the two businesses share liability or responsibilityindirect control of for a single employee). Under joint employer, a small business or company can be held responsible for labor violations made by one of their contractors.

What has all this meant for workers, employers, and the U.S. economy? Nothing good.

Small businesses have had to face massive amounts of red tape and higher overhead costs. This in turn has crippled their ability to grow their businesses—which in turn cripples their ability to drive economic expansion and create the kinds of jobs that workers, and the communities in which they live, desperately need.

The NLRB’s joint employer ruling was an unprecedented power grab by Big Labor bosses, who are frantically looking for ways to force increased membership in the face of declining union participation. It also upended decades of settled labor law by deciding that two completely unrelated legal entities could be classified as a so-called joint employer.

It’s up to Congress to put an end to this damaging regulation and stand up for America’s small businesses, which are not just the backbone of our economy, but its heart and soul as well.

Joint employer, a Big-Labor-driven policy if ever there was one, is probably the single most destructive workplace regulation for small businesses on the books today. Congress—it’s time to put an end to the damaging joint employer rule before it does more damage to workers, small businesses, and the U.S economy. It’s time to pass legislation reigning in this blatant overreach by Big Labor and its allies on the NLRB.