Did McDonald's just dodge the joint employer bullet?

Not official use.

It was no secret. The Obama NLRB wanted to expand the concept of joint employment and McDonald's had a target on its back... but they ran out of time. The NLRB did expand joint employment, but that decision was overturned by the Trump NLRB (it's currently in a state of flux).

The Obama NLRB brought a case against McDonald's with the goal of holding them liable as a joint employer of its franchisee's employees. It would have been huge for franchise businesses across the country. Then, yesterday, news broke that McDonald's reached a settlement with the Trump NLRB. According to the reports, McDonald's would compensate employees who allege they were terminated in retaliation for participating in the "Fight for 15 (dollars per hour)." However, the important part is that "The proposed settlement does not include a determination that McDonald's is a joint employer of the workers."

We'll see what happens. It sure seems like - after all of this excitement the past few years - we're gonna end up right back where we started before the Obama NLRB set out on its expansion mission.

See also: I’m lovin’ it: McDonald’s settles joint employer case with NLRB from Jon Hyman.