October 31, 2023
On October 26, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) released a final rule to provide a broadened standard for when two employers that conduct business together are considered to be joint employers and thus liable for each other’s unfair labor practices. The new rule states that two entities are considered joint employers if they share or co-determine the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment.
This final rule replaces an older rule that an employer could be a joint employer of another entity only if it had direct and immediate control over the essential terms and conditions of employment, such as wages, benefits, work hours, hiring, discharge, discipline, supervision and direction.
If two entities are joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), both must bargain with the union that represents the jointly employed workers, both are potentially liable for unfair labor practices committed by the other, and both are subject to union picketing or other economic pressure if there is a labor dispute.
If you have any questions, please contact Dean Leazenby at Warrick & Boyn, LLP.