NLRB Abandons 2023 Joint Employer Rule: 2020 standard stays in effect
Dismissal of Challenge Sought The NLRB on July 19 filed a motion with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, seeking dismissal of its challenge of the district court ruling. The NLRB said the board believes the rule is lawful but wants “to consider options for addressing the outstanding joint employer matters before it.” The board may try to return to case adjudication as the method for setting the test for joint employment. That’s how the board handled the joint employment test until 2020, when the board issued a regulation. That rule said that one company can be considered the employer of another firm’s employees only if it exercises direct and immediate control over the most important aspects of a worker’s job. District Court Decision A federal district court in Texas blocked the 2023 rule on March 8, deciding it was too broad and violates federal labor law. The rule was found to be invalid because it would treat some companies as the employers of contract or franchise workers,...