I recently blogged about this possibility and now it has come to fruition. The House of Representatives has passed a proposal to walk back the Obama USDOL initiative to expand the doctrine of joint employer status/liability for violations of labor law. The vote was 242-181 and followed (mostly) party lines. The new law would amend the National Labor Relations Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act to state that one entity would be jointly liable for another entity’s labor law violations if that first entity had “direct control” of the second entity’s employees.

U.S. Capitol Building
Copyright: mesutdogan / 123RF Stock Photo

The National Labor Relations Board applied this direct control standard until 2015, when it changed the law in the now famous (or infamous) Browning-Ferris Industries decision. That case held that entities are joint employers under the NLRA when one of them has “indirect or potential control” over the other company’s workers. The USDOL issued guidance that tracked this decision (although the new Labor Secretary rescinded it a few months ago). The D.C. Circuit is now reviewing that case.

The main criticism of the Obama policies and case law was that companies would not enter into agreements with other entities or businesses due to concern over liability. Rep. Bradley Byrne, R-Ala., the bill’s sponsor, stated that these Obama policies have caused “deep uncertainty among job creators.” He asked “what does it mean to have ‘indirect or potential control’ over an employee?” I practiced labor and employment law for decades and I do not know what that means, so I can only imagine the confusion Main Street businesses have faced.”

The fact that the DOL has rescinded its guidance does not change the fact that the tenets in it are still being used and applied. There has been a dramatic increase in the number of lawsuits where joint employer allegations are raised. One management side attorney observes, “every time I’m faced with a wage and hour lawsuit where there’s a temporary agency involved, it’s a sure bet it’s not only going to be the temp agency that’s named as a defendant.”

The opposition takes the view that this law would allow large companies such as franchisors to shield themselves from liability for labor law violations. Representative Mark Takano, D-California, stated “workers and local businesses are on the losing end of today’s vote. The winners are the large corporations and their lobbyists and trade associations who already enjoy outsized power over the economy and the workplace, and whose contributions line the campaign coffers of the House members who voted for this bill.”

The Takeaway

This is a far tougher standard for an agency, whether NLRB or USDOL, to meet, in order to establish a joint employer relationship. I have myself seen, in many cases; these agencies take a very expansive view of this doctrine. This puts tremendous pressure on the entities involved to either litigate to the hilt or settle perhaps on unfavorable terms.

This is one body of law that could do with a little coming back to the middle…