Trump officials claim $11B in annual savings from rollback of Obama 'joint employer' labor rule

Trump officials justified a new effort to roll back the Obama administration's pro-union "joint employer" rule by arguing that it would have hurt not only businesses but also workers. The Trump administration said the controversial rule would have reduced real income by $11 billion a year.

The Labor Department announced Sunday that it was formally replacing the Obama rule, which said that businesses could be held liable for workplaces at another business if they had "indirect control" over the latter. The administration restored the pre-Obama standard, which said liability only applied in cases of direct control, and added further clarification.

"When we lift the heavy hand of government and allow businesses to create jobs, enter new markets, and compete at lower prices, every American wins," wrote Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia and acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Citing the White House Council of Economic Advisers, they stated that the Obama-era rules imposed annual net costs of $5 billion and reduced incomes by $11 billion.

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