SBE Council Slams NLRB’s “Joint Employer” Expansion, Urges Congress to Overturn New Rule  

By SBE Council at 26 October, 2023, 12:21 pm

NEWS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 26, 2023

Washington, D.C. – Today the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued its final “joint employer” rule, and the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council (SBE Council) issued the following statement in response:

“President Biden’s regulatory dominoes are rapidly falling, and the cumulative effect will impose heavy costs on small business, and devastate key paths to entrepreneurship and business ownership. From the proposed independent contractor rule and overtime proposal; to aggressive activity at the Federal Trade Commission that makes it harder for small businesses and startups to secure capital and use tech platforms to grow their customer base; and various other proposals across government that undermine capital access and formation, intellectual property protections, and raise costs in general, this Administration has proven – through many actions – that it lacks the economic understanding and aptitude to support America’s small business sector. The ‘joint employer’ rule is one more example of a regulatory intrusion whose purpose is to placate union special interests at the expense of local franchise owners and small business owners. Under the rule, America’s successful franchise model is destroyed. Moreover, conceivably every business could be deemed a joint employer. This subtle consolidation of business through regulation for regulatory and union organizing purposes, will lead to less business formation, less innovation and less competition,” said SBE Council president & CEO Karen Kerrigan.

SBE Council chief economist Ray Keating added:

“Robust entrepreneurship is vital to U.S. economic, income and employment growth, and franchising is an essential path to entrepreneurship. Unfortunately, the National Labor Relations Board’s expanding joint employment between businesses is a severe blow to entrepreneurship across sectors – raising costs, increasing uncertainty and erecting new barriers. This is another example of too many in government giving lip service to how important entrepreneurs and small businesses are, and then inflicting policies that do real harm to real-world entrepreneurs and small businesses.”

The new rule rescinds a common-sense rule adopted by the NLRB in 2020, which as the SBE Council noted at the time, promoted clarity and certainty for small businesses. Under the new rule, small businesses across sectors are in jeopardy of losing independence, along with the financial investment and sweat equity they’ve put into their businesses. SBE Council will work with its allies in the business community and members of Congress on a bipartisan basis to advance Congressional Review Act resolutions to rescind this economically harmful rule.

Related Resources:

SBE Council’s Comments to the NLRB Urging Withdrawal of the Proposed Joint Employer Rule, December 2022.

CONTACT:

KAREN KERRIGAN, kkerrigan@sbecouncil.org

RAYMOND KEATING: rkeating@sbecouncil.org

SBE Council is a nonpartisan advocacy, research and education organization dedicated to protecting small business and promoting entrepreneurship. For nearly 30 years, SBE Council has worked on and advanced a range of private sector and public policy initiatives to strengthen the ecosystem for strong startup activity and small business growth.

Visit www.sbecouncil.org for additional information. Twitter: @SBECouncil

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