The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a decision today in the Browning-Ferris Industry of California case that expands the definition of joint employer. In response, the American Hotel & Lodging Association issued a statement that said the decision undermines franchise owners’ control over their businesses.
“With the 92 percent of lodging properties in the United States owned by franchisees and small businesses, we are very concerned that these changes to the joint-employer standard will have a profound negative impact on economic investment and job growth across our industry,” said Katherine Lugar, president and CEO of AH&LA. “The NLRB’s decision to expand the definition of joint employer could severely limit opportunities by diminishing the autonomy of millions of small business owners and dissuading potential entrepreneurs from wanting to start a new business.”
For more than 30 years, the franchisor/franchisee relationship has been based on the fundamental understanding that franchisors and franchisees are not joint employers because they do not exercise direct control over the same employees’ responsibilities, Lugar added. “Now, many of our small business owners could very well lose their ability to make decisions about what is best for the men and women they work with every day. The focus of the government should be to encourage and empower businesses, not stifle them.”
AH&LA co-chairs the Coalition to Save Local Businesses, comprised of small and local businesses, concerned citizens, and trade organizations, to inform Members of Congress about the potential consequences that redefining the joint employer standard would have on the U.S. economy.
AH&LA intends to fight to protect the current joint-employer standard through all legislative, regulatory, and legal options available.
