Browning Ferris

On February 26, 2020, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) published its final joint employer rule in the Federal Register, which tightens the test used to analyze whether workers are jointly employed by affiliated businesses. The final rule is intended to roll-back the stricter Obama-era standard that business interests have longed to overturn.

History of Joint Employer Rule

Under longstanding NLRB precedent, two employers could be joint employers if they shared or codetermined matters governing the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment. Until 2015, to be a joint employer, a business had to exercise “direct and immediate” control over these employment matters

Then, the Obama-era NLRB overruled the old standard in its decision in Browning-Ferris, and substantially relaxed the standards for proving joint Continue reading →

On July 14th, the House Appropriations Committee approved a $161.6 billion draft Labor, Health, and Human Service bill that contains several provisions that would prevent the Department of Labor (“DOL”) and the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) from using money to enforce recent regulations and policies that have caused considerable controversy for employers.

Specifically, the bill includes provisions that would prohibit enforcement of the fiduciary rule and the Fair Labor Standard’s Act’s (“FLSA”) overtime rule. The House Appropriations Committee characterized these provisions as “Reducing Harmful Red Tape,” and “designed to help U.S. business create jobs and grow the economy by reducing or eliminating overly burdensome government regulations[.]” Continue reading →