NLRB throws in towel on Joint Employer Rule
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today withdrew its appeal of a district court ruling that had blocked its new joint employer rule.
Published: July 19, 2024 | by Michael Cardman, Senior Legal Editor at Brightmine
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) today withdrew its appeal of a district court ruling that had blocked its new joint employer rule.
As a result, the current employer-friendly standard for determining joint employer status under federal labor law will remain in place for the foreseeable future.
“We are pleased … that the court’s ruling to block the NLRB’s radical and overbroad joint employer standard is now final,” said Ben Brubeck of the Associated Builders and Contractors, part of a coalition of business groups that had filed the lawsuit seeking to block the rule.
The NLRB issued its final rule on joint employment last fall. In March, three days before the rule was to supposed to take effect, a federal district court vacated the 2023 rule and restored a 2020 rule issued by the Trump-era board.
The NLRB appealed the court’s decision in May. But today, the Board withdrew that appeal, saying it wanted to consider its options for addressing joint employment.
Because the withdrawal of the appeal did not result in the case being dismissed “with prejudice,” the NLRB could still try again to appeal the court’s decision.
NLRB press secretary Kayla Blado said the Board decided to withdraw its appeal in light of “the litigation posture” of the 2023 joint employer rule.
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About the author
Michael Cardman
Senior Legal Editor, Brightmine
Michael Cardman has more than 20 years of experience in publishing and has specialized in employment law for more than 15 years. As a member of the Brightmine editorial team, he focuses on wage and hour compliance, including minimum wage, overtime, employee classification, hours worked, independent contractors and child labor.
Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from the University of Virginia. Prior to joining Brightmine, he was the managing editor for Thompson Publishing Group’s library of HR publications. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing books, manuals and online tools covering a variety of topics such as wage and hour, employee leaves, employee benefits and compensation.
Connect with Michael on LinkedIn.