By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Wednesday, the Committee on Education and the Workforce today approved legislation from Congressman Bradley Byrne, R-Montrose, to clarify what constitutes a “joint employer” to provide certainty and stability for workers and job creators.
Congressman Byrne’s bill, the Save Local Business Act, was approved out of committee on a 23 to 17 vote. The bill currently has 95 co-sponsors, including bipartisan support from three Democrats.
Byrne is the chairman of the House Workforce Protections Subcommittee.
“Today our committee sent a clear message that e are standing up for American workers and job creators. The Save Local Business Act is all about eliminating uncertainty for workers and protecting small businesses throughout the United States. Over the coming weeks, I will continue working with my colleagues to build even stronger support for this commonsense, bipartisan legislation,” Rep. Byrne said in a statement.
“This legislation empowers workers to succeed and employers to grow. Workers deserve certainty and stability, and small and local businesses need clear rules of the road to follow in order to create jobs in their communities. I want to thank Representative Byrne for his hard work in bringing the Save Local Business Act this far, and I remain committed to moving it through the legislative process,” Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx, R-North Carolina, said.
Earlier this week, a “who’s who of conservative policy groups” outlined their strong support for Congressman Byrne’s legislation, which is designed to rein in the National Labor Relations Board.
Byrne’s bill would prohibit the NLRB from using an expanded interpretation of the doctrine it adopted in 2015. That expansion changed the standard for liability from “direct control” of another business’ workforce to the much vaguer “indirect control.”
“A policy that makes businesses liable for the practices of their contractors and will cause companies to make changes that leave people worse off, such as ending those relationships with smaller businesses. That means fewer job opportunities, fewer opportunities for entrepreneurs, and fewer chances for American businesses to grow and create jobs,” the groups wrote in an open letter to Congress,” the groups wrote in an open letter to Congress.
The legislation will reaffirm that two or more employers must have “actual, direct, and immediate” control over employees to be considered joint employers under the National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act. The Save Local Business Act amends the NLRA and FLSA by defining joint employer relationships as follows:
“A person may be considered a joint employer in relation to an employee only if such person directly, actually, and immediately, and not in a limited and routine manner, exercises significant control over the essential terms and conditions of employment (including to hiring employees, discharging employees, determining individual employee rates of pay and benefits, day-to-day supervision of employees, assigning individual work schedules, positions, and tasks, and administering employee discipline).”
Congressman Bradley Byrne represents Alabama’s First Congressional District.
(Original reporting by The Washington Examiner contributed to this report)
