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Congressman Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.) today became an original cosponsor on the Save Local Business Act when it was introduced by Education and the Workforce Subcommittee Chairman Bradley Byrne (R-Ala.). This bill would update the National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act to provide clarity on the definition of “joint employer.” This legislation would state that a business is only a joint employer of a worker if it has direct, actual and immediate oversight of the employee.

The bill was introduced in response to a 2015 decision in which the National Labor Relations Board redefined what it meant for two separate entities to be considered a joint employer of a worker. The new definition opened up the liability for an entity to be a joint employer, even if they only had indirect or potential control over another’s workforce.

“I’ve heard from dozens of businesses in my district that have faced unnecessary uncertainty under the expanded joint employer definition, which threatens job creation, increases costs and discourages entrepreneurs from opening up new businesses,” said Ferguson. “The National Labor Relations Board’s decision ignored decades of settled labor policy by changing the joint employer definition, putting all businesses and their workers at risk. This legislation would take the necessary steps to reinstate these widely-accepted standards.”

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