Senate holds hearing on NLRB joint employer decision

The Senate Health, Labor, Education & Pensions Committee today held a hearing on the National Labor Relations Board’s joint employer decision. Under the August decision, two separate entities are considered “joint employers” of the same employees if they have any degree of indirect or reserved control over matters governing the essential terms and conditions of employment. Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) last month introduced with House Education and Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) legislation to roll back the decision, which he urged his colleagues to support. “For over three decades, federal labor policies have held that two separate employers are ‘joint employers’ if both have direct and immediate control over employment terms and working conditions,” Alexander said. “That means two employers who are both responsible for tasks like hiring and firing, setting work hours, issuing direction to employees, determining compensation and handling day-to-day record keeping.” AHA supports the legislation (S. 2015/H.R. 3459) as a member of the Coalition to Save Local Businesses.