Alexander: NLRB “Joint Employer” Decision Could Destroy Small Business Opportunities for Millions of Americans, Including More Than 780,000 Who Own Franchises

MARYVILLE, Tenn., August 27^th – Senate labor committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today released the following statement on the National Labor Relations Board’s decision which retroactively revises the standard for determining joint employer status:

“Today’s ruling seems intended to destroy a small business opportunity for more than 780,000 Americans in our country working 12 hours a day and facing the pressure of meeting payroll, paying taxes, and providing for their families – all as franchisees. It will also harm the millions of small businesses that provide work as subcontractors – such as temporary staffing firms or auto parts suppliers. The board’s decision will greatly reduce any incentive for a corporation to sell franchises or parcel out business to subcontractors, suppliers or subsidiaries, and so may knock the ladder out from under millions of small business owners, some of whom have never been subject to NLRB jurisdiction before. I will be introducing a bill to invalidate this harmful ruling and restore an appropriate legal standard for determining who is a joint employer.”

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For access to this release and Chairman Alexander’s other statements, click here.