However, President Biden is expected to veto the Senate measure.

The Senate voted to nullify the National Labor Relations Board’s recent rule updating its “joint-employer” rule on Wednesday. In a 50 to 48 vote, the Senate passed a Congressional Review Act Resolution of Disapproval of the rule, sending the measure to the President’s desk. President Biden, however, is expected to veto the measure. All republicans who voted, except Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO), supported the measure. They were joined by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Kirsten Sinema (I-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), providing the margin needed to pass the measure.

Congressional review act resolutions are privileged measures that avoid the Senate’s filibuster rules and bypass the Majority Leader’s usual authority to prevent measures from reaching the floor. If signed into law, they also nullify the rule under question and prevent future “substantially similar” rulemakings. While this measure has now passed both the House and the Senate with bipartisan support (eight democrats supported the measure in the House as well), it is unlikely that supporters will be able to override a presidential veto as that would require two-thirds support in both chambers.

Regardless of the pending veto, the rule was already invalidated by a federal judge in Texas in March. The lawsuit against the NLRB was filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business advocacy groups, including NACS, in November 2023. At the time, the Chamber of Commerce stated that “a previously expanded joint employer rule was in place from 2015 to 2017 and cost franchise businesses, a majority of which are small businesses, $33 billion per year. That resulted in 376,000 lost job opportunities and led to 93% more lawsuits.”

Neither the CRA Resolution nor the Texas case are truly the end of this rule however. The NLRB is still weighing whether to appeal the ruling in Texas, and there is a second lawsuit, filed by the Service Employees International Union, in the D.C. Circuit Court. That case is an attempt by the SEIU to find a more favorable venue to protect the rule than the district court in Texas. Action on that case also remains pending.

For now, the rule is on hold as Jude J. Campbell Barker’s ruling in Texas remains in force.