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FEDERALhearing transcript

High Impact

Senate Hearing on the 'Joint Employer' Labor Standard

Original title: WHO'S THE BOSS? THE ``JOINT EMPLOYER'' STANDARD AND BUSINESS OWNERSHIP

January 1, 2017

labor law joint employer standard franchise business NLRB small business

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The Frame

What this does

The hearing examines a proposed change to the legal test for determining if a parent company is a '' of a 's workers, which could alter liability and labor relations for over 700,000 franchise owners.

Who is mentioned in the record

Potentially affected actors named in the source documents. Mention is not a position.

Franchise owners

Changes to the joint employer standard could alter their legal relationship with parent companies and their employees.

National Labor Relations Board

The agency is responsible for proposing and implementing the change to the joint employer standard.

What changed

Last recorded activity January 1, 2017.

What's next

Next step not available in the current record.

Summary

The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions held a hearing on February 5, 2015, to discuss potential changes to the National Labor Relations Board's () '' standard. The discussion focused on how redefining this standard could impact franchise owners and their business operations.

Key Facts

The hearing took place on February 5, 2015, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building.
The 'joint employer' standard has been in place since 1984.
The current standard requires a business to hold 'direct control' over terms and conditions of employment to be considered a joint employer.
The NLRB is considering a change to the joint employer standard.
The committee identified over 700,000 Americans operating as franchise owners who may be affected by the standard.
The NLRB test for joint employment currently evaluates hiring/firing, work hours, uniforms, employee direction, compensation, and day-to-day supervision.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the 'joint employer' standard?

It is a legal test used by the National Labor Relations Board to determine if a company has enough control over workers to be considered their employer, even if those workers are employed by a or contractor.

Why is the Senate committee concerned about this standard?

The committee is examining whether a change to this standard would increase the legal and operational responsibilities of franchise owners, potentially impacting their ability to operate independently.

Why It Matters

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Discoveries

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift90% confidence

NLRB Standard Evolution

The hearing highlights a clear effort by the committee to challenge the NLRB's move away from the 'direct control' test established in 1984.

National Labor Relations Board

Connected Entities

organizationNational Labor Relations Board“The federal agency responsible for the joint employer standard”Map →

personMarshall B. Babson“Witness, Counsel at Seyfarth Shaw LLP”Map →

personGerald F. Moore“Witness, Franchise Owner of The Little Gym”Map →

personLamar Alexander“Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions”Map →

personJohn Sims IV“Witness, Franchise Owner of Rainbow Station”Map →

personPatty Murray“Ranking member of the committee”Map →

personPaul M. Secunda“Witness, Professor of Law at Marquette University”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.govinfo.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance75
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy60
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment10
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz20
Current news / social attention level

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