True or False: ‘Joint Employer’ Plan Based on Economics

The National Labor Relations Board’s chairman turned aside Democratic lawmakers’ request for economic research that might justify the board’s proposal to change its legal test for determining when companies jointly employ workers.

Chairman John Ring responded in an Oct. 23 letter that federal labor law prohibits the NLRB from hiring someone to conduct that type of economic research. The letter was addressed to the top-ranking Democrats on the House and Senate labor committees.

Earlier, however, Ring suggested that there are economic reasons to rework the current joint employer framework via rulemaking. Among other remarks, Ring said on Twitter and in...