The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit last week put on hold legal proceedings over the National Labor Relations Board’s new joint employer rule; it is waiting until a ruling comes down in a similar case filed by the Service Employees International Union, which is being litigated in the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.

The DC Circuit on June 5 granted a motion from a US Chamber of Commerce-led business coalition to hold their case in abeyance, Bloomberg Law reported. The SEIU filed the Washington, DC-based challenge to the rule around the same time the coalition filed its lawsuit in the federal district court in Texas.

The two lawsuits have caused a jurisdictional dispute over the proper venue in which to litigate the measure, according to Bloomberg Law. The DC Circuit is seen as more friendly toward the NLRB than the 5^th Circuit, which has historically been critical of the labor board.

This is a significant procedural win for the coalition fighting the NRLB rule, according to NACS, the global trade association for convenience and fuel retailing and part of the group opposing the rule.

“In part, it could be seen as an indication that the DC Circuit doesn’t put much stock in the SEIU’s argument that all such challenges should be restricted to the DC Circuit,” NACS reported.

The NLRB finalized the rule in October 2023 to replace a joint employer rule that took effect in April 2020. The standard was originally scheduled to take effect Dec. 26, 2023; however, the rule remains on hold amid the legal challenges and was vacated in March by a federal judge in Texas.