Chairman Scott: NLRB’s Joint Employer Rule Erodes Workers’ Most Basic Workplace Rights
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, issued the following statement after the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) announced a final rule to narrow its standard for determining whether two or more entities are joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act.
“Workers can only negotiate for higher pay, better benefits, and safer working conditions if all companies with control over their employment are required to be at the table. As companies increasingly rely on subcontractors, temporary workers, and independent contractors, rather than directly hired employees, the NLRB’s joint employer standard is critical to ensuring workers can meaningfully exercise their basic workplace rights.
“Unfortunately, the new joint employer rule finalized today by Republicans on the National Labor Relations Board discards the traditional standard for determining whether employers are jointly liable under the National Labor Relations Act, even though that standard was upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals. In its place, the NLRB has established a narrow joint employer standard that will make it far easier for companies to evade their responsibility to collectively bargain with workers, even when they have power over the working conditions of those workers.
“For example, under this final rule, employees of a temp agency will be prevented from collectively bargain for higher wages with all the companies who have the power to give them a raise.
“This rule reinforces the need for the Senate to pass the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which codifies the traditional joint employer standard and protects employees’ right to negotiate for a fair share of the profits they produce.”
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