Senate Hearing Focuses on Definition of Joint Employment

The implications of an expanded definition of “joint employer” under the National Labor Relations Act was the topic of debate among Senators and panelists during a Thursday hearing held by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions. According to Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN), if the National Labor Relations Board decides to adopt the NLRB General Counsel’s position on joint employment in the pending Browning-Ferris case, this move “would destroy business opportunities for about 700,000 franchisees and employers.”