Joint Employer Whiplash: What California Businesses Need to Know Now
The National Labor Relation Board’s (“NLRB”) joint-employer standard has swung back and forth for nearly a decade, with the newly-appointed Trump NLRB most recently releasing a final rule reinstating the 2020 joint employer standard. For private California employers – especially those using staffing agencies, subcontractors, franchise models, or management agreements – the rule determines who can be included in a bargaining unit and who may be liable under a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) . Here’s where things stand and why it matters. The Back-and-Forth History Pre-2015 : The NLRB required substantial, direct, and immediate control over essential employment terms to find joint-employer status. 2015 – Browning-Ferris Expansion : The Board broadened the test to include indirect control or even reserved (but unexercised) authority , dramatically increasing joint-employer exposure. 2020 Rule : The Board formally adopted a narrower, employer-...