Press Releases

OnTuesday, September 29 at 10:00 a.m., the Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions, chaired by Rep. Phil Roe (R-TN), will hold a legislative hearing on H.R. 3459, the Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act. The hearing will take place in room 2261 of the Rayburn House Office Building.
 
Federal labor policy has long held that two or more employers are “joint employers” if they share “actual,” “direct,” and “immediate” control over terms and conditions of employment, such as hiring, firing, and work schedules. In a case known as Browning Ferris Industries (BFI), the National Labor Relations Board vastly expanded this joint employer standard to include employers who have “indirect” or “potential” control over employment conditions. The board’s decision overturned decades of settled labor policy and blurred the lines of responsibility for decisions affecting the daily operations of businesses across the country. Concerns have been raised that the decision will lead to higher costs for consumers, fewer jobs for workers, and less opportunity for individuals to own a small business.

To restore a policy that served consumers, workers, and employers well for decades, House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-MN) and Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) introduced the Protecting Local Business Opportunity Act. This legislation would reaffirm that multiple employers must have “actual, direct, and immediate” control over employees to be considered joint employers. Tuesday’s hearing will provide members an opportunity to examine the legislation and hear directly from individuals affected by the board’s decision.To learn more, visit /hearings.

 

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