Today, FAH submitted comments to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) regarding its Proposed Rule on standards to be used in determining joint employer status under the National Labor Relations Act.  

The comments urged the NLRB to exempt hospitals and health systems from any final rule.  Key comments in the letter highlighted: (i) the unique nature of hospitals and health systems and their mission in treating patients 24/7 and thus the need to be treated differently from other industries as acknowledged by the NLRB for decades; (ii) that unlike other industries, hospitals must operate under extensive federal and state regulations and payment systems, and the Proposed Rule’s broad parameters for determining joint employer status would significantly threaten the efficient operation of hospitals; and (iii) that hospitals extensively contract for services across many independent vendors whose employees’ must perform their work on-site at the hospital and it would be unreasonable and unworkable if multiple hospitals using the same vendors were deemed joint employers with those vendors.  Reaching a consensus agreement among all of these parties, with varied and unaligned interests, would result would be endless litigation, chaos, and confusion for all involved. 

You can read the entire comment letter here.