Federal Judge Slaps Down NLRB Rule on Employers, Contractors That Was Sneaky Workaround of Failed PRO Act

The Biden Administration just won't give up on trying to have things its way -- whether it's abiding by the Constitution or not. We've seen this with student loan "forgiveness," which the Supreme Court slapped down but the White House just continues to release executive orders handing out more of taxpayers' money.

The latest issue is on employers and their relationships with independent contractors. Recall that Congress stopped the Administration's onerous PRO Act from becoming law.

The Biden Administration tried to sneak it into the 2021 infrastructure bill, then when Republicans and some Dems (like now-Independent Kyrsten Sinema) blocked that, they began the process via another avenue--through the Department of Labor making a rule.

The leftists kept at it. In January 2024, as my colleague Jennifer Oliver O'Connell wrote, the Biden Acting Labor Secretary, Julie Su, released information on when this new rule would go into effect: [emphasis mine]

The Acting Secretary of Labor, Julie Su, quietly dropped a revised Independent Contractor Rule on January 9, and it's as bad as expected. California Rep. Kevin Kiley (R), who has been at the forefront of this war against independent professionals since his time as an Assemblyman, rendered the bad news ahead of the Department of Labor announcement.[...]
The Independent Contractor Rule was recorded in the federal register on January 10, 2024, and is scheduled to take effect on March 10, 2024. It is 339 pages of essentially the Department of Labor justifying why independent contractors should not be allowed to exist. The rule acts from the premise that independent contractors have no right to determine whether they are independent or an employee. It is the DOL's job to do that for you.

Biden's Economic Destruction Continues, as the US Dept. of Labor Screws Over Independent Contractors

A federal court has blocked the Biden administration’s attempt at a regulatory workaround to try an impose the joint-employer standard that Congress refused to pass in the #PROAct

Joint employer and independent contractors are the two regulatory changes the unions want most. https://t.co/89ZPD4SgmC
— Kim Kavin (@thekimkavin) March 9, 2024

Then in Feb., U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker heard a motion seeking to block the rule:

Barker held a hearing on Feb. 13 on a motion by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the nation's largest business lobby, and other industry groups asking the court to rule in their favor. Their November lawsuit claims the rule violates federal labor law and will cause disruptions in a range of industries that rely on temporary and contract labor.

Now, the federal judge has issued a decision, blocking the implementation of the new NLRB rule less than three days before it was set to go into effect.

U.S. District Judge J. Campbell Barker in Tyler agreed with the challengers to the "joint employers" rule, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, that it is too broad and violates federal labor law. The rule, issued in October, had been set to take effect on Monday.
Barker said the rule is invalid because it would treat some companies as the employers of contract or franchise workers even when they lacked any meaningful control over their working conditions.
The rule "would treat virtually every entity that contracts for labor as a joint employer because virtually every contract for third-party labor has terms that impact, at least indirectly ... essential terms and conditions of employment," the judge wrote.

Everyone had to wait a few days, though, before the judge made his decision on Friday. On Feb. 22, Baker had "issued a brief order pushing back the rule's effective date from Feb. 26 to March 11."

There was no immediate comment on the ruling from either the NLRB or U.S. Chamber of Commerce, but the NLRB is expected to appeal.

We'll be keeping an eye on what happens next. Team Biden is sure to want to keep doing favors, or trying to, for the labor unions, as we move closer to the presidential election in November. As many readers know, RedState is known for doggedly keeping its eye on issues just like this across the nation, which will affect Americans' everyday lives and their livelihoods.

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