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Ohio has amended state employment law to limit when a franchiser is considered a joint employer, effective March 20.

Ohio joins at least 18 other states that have enacted joint employer shield laws designed to protect corporate franchisers like McDonald's and Marriott International from being jointly responsible for violations of employee rights, according to the Economic Policy Institute.

The Ohio law seeks to partially limit a 2015 ruling by the National Labor Relations Board in Browning-Ferris Industries.

Supporters of the state legislation included the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Hotel & Lodging Association and the Ohio Restaurant Association. Keith Lake, vice president of government affairs for the Ohio Chamber of Commerce, said Wednesday that the change was important for general counsel and their companies because the Browning-Ferris ruling had blurred the franchisee-franchiser legal relationship.

“It provides more clarity and certainty for both the employer and the franchiser,” Lake explained.

Under the new law, a franchiser will not be deemed a joint employer unless the franchiser agrees in writing to assume the role or a court determines that the franchiser exerted an uncustomary degree of control over the franchisee or its employees.

The law applies specifically to unpaid wages, workers' compensation claims and unemployment compensation claims under Ohio statutes. It does not apply to worker discrimination claims, minimum wage or overtime claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act or claims under other federal laws.

A coalition of trade associations and other industry groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, filed a petition last year with the NLRB asking the agency to redefine joint employment. The agency tried to do so, but was impeded by an alleged conflict of interest of one commissioner.

Jon Hyman, a partner at Meyers, Roman, Friedberg & Lewis in Cleveland and author of The Ohio Employer Law Blog, said the new state law is an “important gesture” carrying real importance on certain state claims.

But Hyman's blog added that until “federal agencies and the federal courts fall in line … franchisors (and other potential joint employers) will continue to operate in a sea of uncertainty on this critical issue.”