NLRB Issues Joint-Employer Proposal. (Beltway Buzz - September 14, 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.

NLRB Issues Joint-Employer Proposal. Whoa. Today, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) published a proposed rule regarding its joint-employer standard. The proposed rule would undo the Board's 2015 Browning-Ferris Industries decision and return the Board to a "direct and immediate" joint-employer standard. More details here. Back in June, NLRB Chairman John Ring promised that joint-employer regulation would issue before the end of summer, and he was right on target: autumn begins one week from tomorrow.

NLRB to Review Construction Industry Prehire Agreements. On September 11, 2018, the NLRB issued a notice inviting briefs from the public on whether the Board should revamp its policy on what is required to transform a construction industry prehire agreement into a "traditional" collective bargaining agreement. Pursuant to prehire agreements—which are permitted under federal law but limited to the construction industry—labor unions can enter into a contract with an employer without the majority support of employees (indeed, as the name entails, many employees will have yet to be hired for the project). However, labor unions like to transform these prehire agreements into "traditional" collective bargaining agreements because prehire agreements do not bar representation petitions and do not obligate an employer to continue to bargain upon expiration of the agreement. In its solicitation for briefs, the Board asks stakeholders to address whether a prehire agreement can be transformed into a "traditional" collective bargaining agreement simply via the language in the agreement, or whether a contemporaneous showing of actual majority support of employees is necessary. Briefs are due on Friday, October 26, 2018.

We're From the Government, and We're Here to Help. Heads up, federal contractors:

T. Scott Kelly has the details on the 750 corporate scheduling announcement letters that the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP) mailed out late last week. Further, OFCCP issued a directive this week that proposes changes to its procedures for requesting and maintaining functional affirmative action program (FAAP) agreements. Hera S. Arsen has more. Finally, though this isn't exactly related to labor and employment policy, if you've read this far, you're...