The NLRB recently announced that it is delaying the effective date of its recent rule determining the standard for joint-employer status from December 26, 2023 to February 26, 2024, to facilitate the resolution of legal challenges with respect to the rule.
As previously reported on PERKS, the new rule amends the 2020 rule, by which joint employer status had a high threshold requiring that a putative joint employer “possess and exercise . . . substantial direct and immediate control” over essential terms and conditions of employment. Under the new standard, an entity may be considered a joint employer of a group of employees “ if each entity has an employment relationship with the employees and they share or codetermine one or more of the employees’ essential terms and conditions of employment.,” such as wages, hours of work and scheduling, assignment of duties, etc.
Under the new joint-employer standard, employers may be more likely to be considered joint employers and thus, more likely to be involved in NLRB proceedings or liable for alleged violations of the NLRA.
Employers should review their relationships with third party entities to determine whether they could be considered a joint employer under this rule.