U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Restaurant Law Center, et al. v. National Labor Relations Board, et al.

Issue

Whether the new NLRB’s Joint Employer rule violates the Administrative Procedure Act and the face of the National Labor Relations Act. The rule would displace widely accepted common-law standards governing the scope of employment relationships, while establishing entirely new tests of employer liability, reconfiguring relationships among legally separate entities, and erasing distinctions between contractors and employers.

November 9, 2023

The Restaurant Law Center and other business groups filed a Complaint calling the NLRB’s decision to repeal and replace its previous joint employer rule illegal. In particular, the NLRB’s interpretation of who is a “joint employer” under the NLRA is overbroad and directly contradicts the established common-law definition that limits joint employment to relationships of actual and substantial control.

November 13, 2023

The Restaurant Law Center and other business groups filed a Motion for Summary Judgment calling on the court to set aside the NLRB’s new joint employer rule, enjoin its application, and vacate the Board’s rescission of the 2020 Rule.

December 4, 2023

The Restaurant Law Center and other business groups filed in opposition to the NLRB’s motion to transfer the case to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. The groups argue that federal law grants district courts with original jurisdiction of “all civil actions arising under the Constitution, laws, or treaties of the United States” and nothing in the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) displaces that default rule when it comes to Administrative Procedure Act (APA) challenges to NLRB’s rulemaking.