NLRB Returns To Amorphous Joint-Employer Standard. (Beltway Buzz - March 2, 2018)

NLRB Returns to Amorphous Joint-Employer Standard. Talk about policy oscillation: the National Labor Relations Board's (NLRB) joint-employer recusal debacle continued this week, perhaps coming to an abrupt end (for now). In a stunning development, the Board vacated its December 2017 decision in Hy-Brand Industrial Contractors, Ltd., following a determination from the Board's ethics official that Member William Emanuel should not have participated in the case because his previous law firm represented a party in another case ( Browning-Ferris Industries) that dealt with the same issue. As stated in the Board's statement on Hy-Brand, this means that "the overruling of the Board's decision in Browning-Ferris Industries, 362 NLRB No. 186 (2015), set forth therein is of no force or effect." John P. Hasman has all the details here. The Buzz still wonders when an issue preclusion-like standard began to apply to Board recusal criterion, and questions how such a precedent will impact both Board policy and appointments going forward.

NLRB Nominee Hearing. Stakeholders who are hopeful that the Board will find another vehicle for overturning Browning-Ferris understand that a new member will need to be appointed in order to break the current two-to-two deadlock. That new member could very well be management attorney John Ring, who had his confirmation hearing at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee on March 1. As expected, recusals and conflicts of interest were common topics of senators' questions to Ring. If the committee approves Ring's nomination during its scheduled March 7 vote, the next step in the process will be a vote on the Senate floor.

USCIS Announces Increased H-1B Scrutiny. The Buzz has previously noted an increase in the number of requests for evidence (RFEs) coming from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Well, according to a new memorandum that became effective last week, employers of H-1B workers will be required to disclose even more information to the federal government. More specifically, pursuant to the announced policy change, employers will be required to provide additional documentation in situations where H-1B employees are working at third-party worksites. Ashley K. Kerr has more.

H-4 Spouse Proposal Delayed. Last week, the Buzz predicted that USCIS would not meet the February deadline it set for issuance of a proposal to eliminate work authorization eligibility for certain...

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