Blunt slams national labor board ruling on joint-employer status

U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) released a statement this week, responding to a ruling from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) concerning joint-employer status within Browning-Ferris Industries of California.

In a 3-2 decision made on Thursday, the NLRB redefined joint-employer status, declaring that two or more entities are “joint employers of a single work force.”

Blunt said this is not good for small-business owners.

“The Senate Appropriations Committee has passed language I put forward that would prohibit federal funds from being used to implement this poor decision that takes away decision-making from a small-business owner,” Blunt said. “The NLRB ruling could do irreparable damage to the franchise model, which is overwhelmingly small-business owners who hire local employees. The franchise business model, as much as any other, has helped more people join and rise up within the middle class. The person that runs the local franchisee, whether it’s a Hampton Inn, a Jiffy Lube or a Hardee’s, will have a hard time explaining to their employees or the local banker that they are not responsible for what happens in that local business. This ruling will stop job growth, economic growth, upward mobility and a path to owning a small business.”

Blunt has represented Missouri in the U.S. Senate since 2011. Born in Niangua, Missouri, in 1950, Blunt previously served in the U.S. House  from 1997 to 2011. Blunt was educated at Southwest Baptist University and serves on the following committees: Appropriations;  Commerce, Science and Transportation; Intelligence; and Rules and Administration.