SHRM Speaks to Ryan Funk and Matthew Fontana About NLRB’s Joint-Employer Rule

In “NLRB’s Joint-Employer Rule: Do You Want to Control Other Employers’ Workers?” The Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) turned to labor and employment partners Ryan Funk and Matthew Fontana for insight on what employers need to know about the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) new joint-employer rule, including when a business does and doesn’t need to control another employer’s workers.

“Organizations should focus their review on their contracts with employers whose employees they do not need to control,” Funk said. Regarding workplace rules, he continued, “Look for places where those rules restrict other employers’ employees.” Funk also stated, “Think about whether your organization needs to control employees of another employer.” However, he noted that if an employer can identify ways its organization has an ability to control other employers’ workers that it does not really need, it should consider whether it can relinquish all potential control over those employees. “If so, you can lawfully avoid a joint-employer finding.”

Fontana said a joint-employer determination likely would require a business to bargain with a union if the co-employer is unionized. The publication further reported that if being a joint employer is a necessary risk, the business may decide to leave its contract with the co-employer as is, but it still might be a good time to review the contract. Fontana added that under the new rule, “the worst place an employer can be is to have a little control, which is too much to avoid a joint-employer finding, while being too little to reap the benefits of control.”

The full article is available for SHRM subscribers.