WASHINGTON, July 28--Kristen Swearingen, vice president of Legislative & Political Affairs at Associated Builders and Contractors and chair of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace, today issued the following statement on the introduction of the Save Local Business Act, which would roll back the Obama administration’s expanded definition of “joint employer” under the National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act:

“Under President Obama, the National Labor Relations Board expanded the joint employer standard used to determine when one business should be considered responsible for the labor practices of another.

“The changes disrupted decades of established law and undermined the business relationships between a brand company and local franchise business owners; contractors and subcontractors; and businesses and their suppliers and vendors—all of which have created millions of jobs and allowed hundreds of thousands of individuals to achieve the American Dream of owning their own business.

“This legislation would codify the previous standard in both the National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act, and would restore clarity and protect businesses from unnecessary involvement in labor negotiations and disputes involving workplaces in which they do not have direct control. The restoration of this standard will protect hundreds of thousands of small and local businesses and allow them to grow American jobs again.”