NTU urges all Senators to vote “YES” on the House-passed H.J. Res 98, Providing for congressional disapproval under chapter 8 of title 5, United States Code, of the rule submitted by the National Labor Relations Board relating to "Standard for Determining Joint Employer Status." This Congressional Review Act resolution would nullify the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) recent rulemaking that will upend the traditional joint employer standard. Employment relationships across the country will soon be subject to vast legal uncertainty and this rule is the forerunner of future administrative state interpretations that will increase costs for consumers, lead to reduced employment opportunities, and lead to huge compliance burdens for businesses large and small.
As NTU wrote in its comments to the NLRB when this rule was proposed, this rule threatens contractual relationships across the country.
This rule could eliminate the independence or livelihoods of franchise small business owners, temporary staffing agencies, hospital staffing, and even contractor platforms like TaskRabbit, Uber, Lyft and more.
Franchise brands may choose to reduce franchise small business owner opportunities and instead opt to bring locations in-house, thus reducing opportunities for minorities or other first-time business owners.
Rural hospitals facing staffing shortages may be even more hamstrung by reducing opportunities to temporarily staff workers as demand for emergency services fluctuates.
Platforms like Uber and Lyft or large businesses like Walmart or Microsoft may reduce opportunities for contractors if they face immense compliance costs from navigating the uncertainty created by this rule. Some businesses may choose to offshore previously independently contracted labor instead of dealing with increased domestic compliance risks and costs.
These radical changes to the joint employer standard threaten all contractual relationships economy-wide. Nullifying this rule will ensure the nation’s delicate economic outlook is not thrown into turmoil.
Roll call votes on H.J. Res 98 will be included in NTU’s annual Rating of Congress and a “YES” vote will be considered the pro-taxpayer position.
If you have any questions, please contact Nick Johns at njohns@ntu.org