U.S. Senate Votes To Overturn NLRB Joint Employer Rule

On April 10 on a 50-48 vote, the U.S. Senate approved a resolution that, if signed into law by President Joe Biden, would overturn the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) joint employer rule.

As a reminder, for businesses that use contract employees, this rule, which the Metals Service Center Institute (MSCI) has opposed, would lower the threshold for those companies to be deemed a joint employer. Specifically, the updated rule states that two entities are considered joint employers if they share or co-determine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment, such as pay, benefits, scheduling, hiring, discharge, and discipline.

If deemed a joint employer, a company must participate in collective bargaining if employees for one of the organizations are represented by a union. As SHRM noted, what that provision means is that the NRLB’s new rule would force companies to the bargaining table even when they have little control over working conditions.

MSCI and other business groups have advocated for a return to an earlier version of the rule that stated only businesses with direct and immediate control over employees’ working conditions are joint employers.

The U.S. House of Representatives already has approved the Senate-passed resolution on a bipartisan vote, but President Biden is likely to veto it. Fortunately, as Connecting the Dots noted at the time, last month a district court judge in Texas has blocked the updated joint employer rule from taking effect. The Biden administration is challenging that decision, however. Stay tuned to Connecting the Dots as this case makes its way through the federal court system.