Joint-Employer Update (Beltway Buzz - November 2, 2018)

The Beltway Buzz is a weekly update summarizing labor and employment news from inside the Beltway and clarifying how what's happening in Washington, D.C. could impact your business.

Joint-Employer Update. As a pre-Halloween treat to stakeholders who are preparing written comments on the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) proposed joint-employer rule, on October 30, 2018, the NLRB extended by 30 days the comment due date. The extension was likely due to a recent letter from congressional Democrats who asked for an additional 60 days within which to file comments. Comments, which were originally due on November 13, 2018, are now due on December 13, 2018. Further, this week NLRB Chairman John F. Ring disputed an article in Bloomberg BNA regarding the Board's response to Democrats' demand for information relating to the ongoing joint-employer rulemaking. Ring also decried the invasion of politics into Board processes. While the Buzz tends to agree with Ring's latter comment, we don't think that politics will be separated from Board policies anytime soon.

Arbitration Nation. For those of you who may have thought that the recent Supreme Court decision in Epic Systems Corporation v. Lewis put to rest all issues relating to predispute employment arbitration, think again:

On October 29, 2018, the Supreme Court of the United States heard oral argument in Lamps Plus, Inc. v. Varela on whether the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) prohibits class arbitration where an agreement is silent with regard to class proceedings. This is the second case this month that the Supreme Court has heard dealing with arbitration in the employment context. On the legislative front, representatives Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) introduced the Restoring Justice for Workers Act, which would ban predispute arbitration agreements in the employment context. The bill also makes it unlawful for employers to retaliate against employees for refusing to arbitrate employment disputes. That both the Supreme Court and Congress continue to weigh in on the contours of the FAA and arbitration agreements means that arbitration, in general, will likely continue to be a hot-button issue in 2019 and beyond (especially if Democrats win the House of Representatives in next week's election).

OSHA LOTO Standard. Late last week, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) submitted to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) a proposed request for...

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