THE U.S. SENATE voted to block the National Labor Relations Board's final definition of joint-employer status, following up on a similar bill passed by
the House. President Biden is expected to veto the bill, but opponents of the NLRB joint employer rule, such as the American Hotel & Lodging Association, claim
the Senate's resolution was a "win for hoteliers."
After the House passed its Congressional Review Act against the NLRB rule in January, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas also issued an
order blocking the NLRB rule. AHLA supported both efforts to block the NLRB rule, calling the current joint employer definition a threat to the hotel franchise
model.
"Today's bipartisan Senate vote is a win for hoteliers and small business owners everywhere, and shows the rule is out of step with Congress, the courts, and
America's job creators. Lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate realize the administration's joint-employer rule would acutely suppress job creation
for hoteliers and other businesses, and therefore it needs to be abandoned," said Kevin Carey, AHLA Interim president and CEO.
HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY ASSOCIATIONS are welcoming two laws, one proposed on a federal level and another passed by the state of Tennessee. The federal law is
long-awaited clarification of the definition joint employers and the Tennessee law limits regulations by local governments in the state that would affect small
businesses, including hotels.
A clear definition
Versions of the Save Local Business Act recently was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate. Sponsors of the bill say it will provide
clarity on Department of Labor's proposed new joint employer rules that have undergone multiple changes lately, leading to legal confusion.
"You can't focus on running a business if the federal government keeps changing the rules. The Save Local Business Act provides long-overdue clarity and consistency
that will protect our nation's small businesses," said one of the bill's sponsors, U.S. Sen. Roger Marshall. "The Biden Administration's Labor Department has relied
on complicated court rulings to handle joint employers instead of providing clear guidance to the business community. In a time of economic hardship, we should be
doing all that we can to help our nation's small businesses, not let the heavy hand of government regulations run amok."