Continuing its trend of restoring standards to the pre-Obama Board era, the National Labor Relations Board issued its final joint employer rule, returning the Board to its pre-2015 joint employer rules, albeit with a bit more guidance. The five-member Board currently has two vacancies.
The rule, published on February 26, 2020, and effective April 27, 2020, takes the Board back to the “substantial direct and immediate control” joint employer test it employed before the 2015 Browning-Ferris decision. Under Browning-Ferris, a business that only exercised “indirect control” over the employees of a contractor or franchisee could be considered a joint employer. This test greatly expanded the circumstances in which a business could be considered a joint employer. The new rule rolls back Browning-Ferris and provides clarity to employers who should now be breathing a sigh of relief. Read More ›