Michael Layman, senior advisor to the Coalition to Save Local Businesses (CSLB), issued the following statement highlighting CSLB’s rapid nationwide growth. Since its November relaunch, CSLB has driven almost 60 groups across 10 states to call on their state congressional delegations to support a bipartisan resolution to overturn the job-killing joint employer rule.

“Momentum is building to stop the job-killing joint employer rule,” said Layman. “Small and local business owners across America know this overreaching and unworkable regulation will kill jobs, shutter storefronts, increase litigation and make an already uncertain economic outlook that much worse. It’s encouraging to see the widespread support in communities across the country for overturning this disastrous rule.”

The NLRB’s final joint employer rule would expand 6he definition of joint employer, stripping small business owners of authority over their employees. This new joint employer rule expands on an old joint employer rule that destroyed an estimated 376,000 jobs, cost small businesses an estimated $33 billion, and led to a 93% spike in lawsuits in the franchise sector alone.  Proposed in Sept. 2022, the expanded joint employer rule was finalized on Oct. 26, 2023, was scheduled to take effect on Dec. 26, 2023 and has now been postponed until February 26, 2024.

Brad Griffin, CEO of the Montana Equipment Dealers Association said, “Agriculture is the lifeblood of Montana’s economy and supplying this vital industry with proper equipment is fundamental to its success. We oppose the joint employer rule, because it will negatively impact our dealer-member’s relationships with their agriculture partners. The Montana congressional delegation should absolutely support the effort to overturn this harmful rule.”

Earlier this year, a group of 72 organizations sent a letter urging Congress to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn the NLRB’s final joint employer rule. Following the initial letter, organizations in Arizona, California, Maine, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, and North Dakota sent similar letters to their state congressional delegations.

U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, and Joe Manchin (D-WV), Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), chairwoman of the House Education and Workforce Committee, Representative John James (R-MI) and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) introduced resolutions of disapproval under the CRA to overturn this new job-killing rule.

The Coalition to Save Local Businesses represents hundreds of thousands of local businesses and millions of American jobs through its membership and partner organizations.  The coalition’s goal is to raise the voices of everyday Americans who own, operate, work for and depend on local businesses for their livelihoods.