CEI Statement on Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act

On the joint employer issue, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today introduced a bill to undo the recent NLRB ruling in the case against the Browning-Ferris waste management company. You will recall that the ruling dramatically expanded who may be considered a joint employer under the National Labor Relations Act.

Statement by CEI labor policy expert Trey Kovacs:

Senator Lamar Alexander today took urgently needed action towards stopping regulators at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) from unilaterally upending the American workplace. Sen. Alexander’s bill would essentially reverse the NLRB’s recent, unprecedented decision that a company can now be held liable for labor law violations committed by a contractor. With the introduction of a bill to restore the traditional joint-employer standard, Congress has the chance to return stability and flexibility to thousands of business relationships and employment arrangements across the country.

If Congress fails to intervene, the NLRB decision could potentially stunt the growth of many small businesses — contractors, franchisees and temporary staffing agencies — that are responsible for creating 60 percent of new jobs. With a record high of 94,031,000 Americans out of the workforce, Congress must reverse the harmful decision made by unelected bureaucrats at the NLRB. 

Background information and analysis on the issue:

• The NLRB Joint-Employer Cases: An Attack on American Business 
• NLRB's Joint-Employer Ruling: Payback for Unions at Workers' and Business' Expense 
• Federal Labor Agencies Ambush American Economy