By Dean Leazenby
Effective February 27, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) officially reinstated the 2020 pre-Biden joint employer standard, making joint employer status less likely to be found. Now, as in 2020, to be considered a joint employer, a company must have “direct and immediate control” over at least one of the essential terms and conditions of employment of another entity’s employees.
The 2020 Standard
In February 2020, the NLRB issued its final rule on determining joint employer status. Under this rule, two entities were considered joint employers of an employee only if the two exercised “substantial direct and immediate control” over the employee’s “essential terms and conditions of employment,” defined as “wages, benefits, hours of work, hiring, discharge, discipline, supervision, and direction.”
The 2023 Standard
In 2023, a new standard was implemented under the Biden administration that made it easier to establish joint employer status. Under this new rule, an entity would be considered a joint employer if it had “indirect” or “reserved” control over another employer’s workers. Accordingly, an entity could be found to be a joint employer even if it did not actually exercise any control, a far lower standard than the “direct and immediate control” requirement under the 2020 Rule.
In 2024, a U.S. District Court in Texas struck down the 2023 Rule on the grounds that it exceeded the common-law definition of employment and was unlawfully broad. Since then, there has been no official rule determining joint employer status.
The NLRB has now officially reinstated the 2020 Rule into the Code of Federal Regulations.
Going forward
As always, if you have any questions or concerns regarding this or any other employment matter, please contact Dean E. Leazenby at [email protected] or by calling Warrick & Boyn, LLP, at (574) 294-7491.