A federal judge in Texas delayed the effective date for the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) rule on joint employer liability to March 11, Bloomberg Law reported. The rule was previously set to take effect on February 26.

Judge J. Cambell Barker on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a two-week stay order on the regulation due to litigation. Barker is currently considering a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a coalition of business groups, including NACS, to permanently block the rule, Bloomberg Law reported. He is also considering the NLRB’s argument that direct review of the measure belongs in federal appellate court.

According to Bloomberg Law, Barker previously expressed skepticism about the regulation during a February 13 hearing.

The new rule rescinds the 2020 joint employer measure and makes it easier for companies to qualify as joint employers, including in franchising, contracting, and supply chains. The rule broadens liability for employers and enables unions to organize across companies, rather than store by store.

“The NLRB’s new joint employer rule is the latest in a string of actions to promote unionization at all costs, even when harmful to workers, employers, and our economy,” Glenn Spencer, senior vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Employment Policy Division, said in the lawsuit. “It defies common sense to say that businesses can be held liable for workers they don’t employ at workplaces they don’t own or control. The NLRB has been overturning numerous precedents at the behest of labor unions, so the Chamber is suing to rein in this out-of-control agency.”

To see the complaint filed by NACS, the Chamber of Commerce, and other business groups, click here.