The National Labor Relations Board issued a final rule Feb. 26 regarding what makes two companies joint employers under the National Labor Relations Standards Act, according to www.constructiondive.com.
Under the act, if two companies are deemed to be joint employers, both are required to bargain with the union that represents the jointly employed employees. Both companies also are potentially liable for each other’s unfair labor practices and subject to union actions, such as picketing in the case of labor disputes.
The NLRB’s final rule states a company—for example, a construction contracting firm—is considered a joint employer of another company’s employees only if the two share or co-control the employees’ “essential terms and conditions of employment,” which are defined as wages, benefits, work hours, hiring, termination, discipline, supervision and direction.
The NLRB’s supplementary information accompanying the rule said a clarification of what constitutes joint-employer status was necessary after a 2015 court decision that made it possible for a company to be declared a joint employer under the act even if control over another company’s employees was limited, indirect and routine or was identified in a contract but never exercised.
