This could be a busy week for developments in the joint employment area.

1) Congressional Republicans have begun drafting legislation that could change the definition of joint employment, Bloomberg BNA reports. Presumably the goals of a new bill would be (a) to add clarity to the standards for deciding who is a joint employer, and (b) to make it more difficult for workers or unions to claim they are jointly employed.

The scope of the proposed legislation is yet to be determined. It would most likely roll back the NLRB’s Browning-Ferris decision and restore the prior test for joint employment, requiring more substantial evidence of control. House Republicans have also hinted that they may broaden the scope of the proposed bill and address the standard for joint employment under federal wage and hour law (FLSA) and health and safety (OSHA) as well.

Key supporters of the proposed legislation include Rep. Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.), House Education and the Workforce Committee member, and Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), chairman of the Education and the Workforce Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is involved in this effort as well.

A committee hearing entitled, Redefining Joint Employer Standards: Barriers to Job Creation and Entrepreneurship, has been scheduled for July 12, at 10:15 am.  It can be live-streamed on the web. Click here for more information.

2) On the following day, July 13, hearings are scheduled on the nominations of William Emanuel and Marvin Kaplan to join the NLRB. The hearings will take place before the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions Committee. If recommended by the committee, the full Senate would then vote on the appointments.

If confirmed, these two new members would return the Board to a 3-2 Republican majority for the first time since the beginning of the first Obama administration.

The newly configured Board is likely to roll back the expansive Browning-Ferris decision, which made it substantially easier for workers to claim they are joint employees under federal labor law. Last week’s post about these nomination contains more detail.

I’ll provide further updates as new developments take place.

© 2017 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.