In a decision involving Browning-Ferris Industries, federal labor officials Wednesday drastically changed a rule impacting contractors and franchises across the country.
Under the National Labor Relations Act, a company can be considered an employer over a company it contracts with if it has significant control over its employees. Known as the joint-employer standard, the rule helps to resolve labor disputes when it’s not clear what company the dispute arose from. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is tasked with solving such disputes.
“In this decision, we consider whether the Board should adhere to its current standard for assessing joint-employer status under the National Labor Relations Act or whether that standard should be revise to better effectuate the purposes of the Act, in the current economic landscape,” the NLRB decision noted.
Cases involving McDonald’s, CNN, and Browning-Ferris have provided the NLRB the opportunity to revisit the standard. The Browning-Ferris decision means the standard will expand significantly to include more businesses that contract with one another.
