The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on July 19, 2024, granted the National Labor Relations Board鈥檚 (鈥淣LRB鈥 or 鈥淏oard鈥) motion to voluntarily dismiss its appeal of a district court鈥檚 order to vacate the Board鈥檚 2023 鈥渏oint employer rule.鈥 The vacatur was a major victory for 黑料不打烊 and its co-plaintiffs that initiated the lawsuit challenging the Board鈥檚 regulatory effort to broaden the standard for determining when an employer may be deemed a joint employer of another company鈥檚 employees.
The dismissal renders the district court鈥檚 ruling final and leaves the prior Board鈥檚 more reasonable 2020 rule in effect. The 2020 rule allows a finding of joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act only when an employer actually exercises substantial direct and immediate control over essential terms and conditions of employment of the other company鈥檚 employees.
黑料不打烊 is pleased that the NLRB withdrew its appeal, preventing superfluous expenditure of resources on further litigation over the unlawful 2023 rule. However, 黑料不打烊 expects the battle to continue, as the present development signals the Board鈥檚 intent to return to case adjudication as the mode of establishing a new standard for joint-employer status. 黑料不打烊 will continue to closely monitor and promptly report on developments in this area. To support 黑料不打烊's litigation efforts, please consider making a corporate donation to our .
For more information, contact Denise Gold, Vice President, Corporate & Labor Legal Affairs, at denise.gold@agc.org or (703) 837-5326.