NLRB delays date joint-employer rule goes into effect
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The National Labor Relations Board said it is delaying implementation of its controversial joint-employer rule to Feb. 26, 2024, from Dec. 26, after the judge presiding over a case opposing the rule asked the agency to provide a timeline for the court to consider staying its effective date.
The final rule says that under the National Labor Relations Act, two or more entities may be considered joint employers of a group of employees if each entity has an employment relationship with the employees, and if the entities share, or codetermine, one or more of the employees’ “essential terms and conditions of employment.”
It is intended to replace a 2020 Trump Administration rule.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and other business groups sued the National Labor Relations Board in federal district court in Tyler, Texas last week, seeking rescission of the new rule.
They filed motions for expedited consideration of the case and summary judgment on Monday.
The case’s presiding judge, J. Campbell Barker, issued his order for the NLRB to include in its proposed briefing schedule a timeline for the court to consider staying the rule’s effective date on Tuesday.
The NLRB filed a motion Wednesday opposing plaintiffs’ motion for expedited consideration of the rule.
In its court filing and statement extending the rule’s effective day, the agency said it was doing so “to facilitate resolution of legal challenges” and that the new standard will only be applied to cases after the rule becomes effective.
Jordan Von Bokern, U.S. Chamber Litigation Center senior counsel, said in a statement in response to the extension, "We are glad the Chamber’s lawsuit prompted the NLRB to delay the broad and harmful joint employer rule, but they have shown no intent to fix the rule’s countless problems. We look forward to winning full relief against this unlawful regulation in court.”
