Associated Builders and Contractors today issued the following statement criticizing President Joe Biden’s veto of H.J. Res 98, the Joint Employer Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval, which would have nullified the ABC-opposed rule issued by the National Labor Relations Board in 2023 and prevented promulgation of a similar rule in the future.
“President Biden today struck another blow against small and minority-owned businesses, the franchise system and long-established construction industry subcontracting practices by thwarting bipartisan congressional efforts to kill this radical and illegal rule,” said Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of legislative & political affairs. “ABC supported the CRA resolution to not only stop the endless cycle of litigation over the joint-employer standard, but also preserve contractors’ ability to build America efficiently and cost-effectively by hiring subcontractors without fear of increased liability and risk. ABC will continue to fight Biden’s pro-union, anti-business regulatory agenda, which raises construction costs on taxpayer-funded infrastructure projects to put more money in the pockets of union bosses.”
On March 8, in a victory for ABC, a federal judge in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas vacated the 2023 NLRB’s joint employer rule and the rescission of the preexisting rule. This means the ABC-supported 2020 NLRB final rule, which provides clear criteria for companies to apply when determining joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act, remains in effect pending further legal action by the NLRB.
