GOP: Labor Board, Labor Dept. Coordinated On Joint Employer Rule

Evidence uncovered by the House Education and the Workforce Committee indicates that the Labor Department and the National Labor Relations Board coordinated on their new controversial new "joint employer" rules, which vastly expand legal liability for large businesses. Department officials have said there was no contact between the two entities on the subject.

"The committee has received new information that raises concerns about the veracity of the department's Nov. 18 response, as well as subsequent communications," committee Chairman John Kline, R-Minn., said in a Jan. 19 letter to Labor Department Secretary Tom Perez.

Kline's letter referred to data provided to the committee by the labor board, an independent agency that is the main enforcer of federal labor laws. The data included messages that indicated that on at least two occasions last year officials from the department and the board's general counsel's office discussed joint conferences regarding the rule. It is not clear if the meetings were held.

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