Senators Mike Braun (R-IN), Tim Scott (R-SC), Marco Rubio (R-FL), and Pete Ricketts (R-NE) sent a November 20 letter to the National Labor Relations Board sharing significant concerns with the Board’s 2023 Joint Employer Rule, including a focus on the rule’s effect on older Americans. The recently finalized rule revises the standard for determining whether separate entities are “joint employers” of particular employees within the meaning of the National Labor Relations Act, rescinding and replacing a rule that took effect in 2020.

The letter cites the December 2022 comment letter LeadingAge submitted to NLRB in response to the rule when it was proposed, and notes that “long-term care organizations would face expanded liability for their contracts with other service providers and the accompanying high regulatory costs would introduce considerable uncertainty for the aging community,” among other concerns.

All of the letter’s co-signers are members of the U.S. Senate’s Special Committee on Aging. Braun, the Committee’s Ranking Member, concludes: “I urge the Board to reconsider the impact of its rule, reengage with aging services stakeholders, and return to the 2020 rule’s fairness and flexibility.”