Jon Weinberg is a student at Harvard Law School.
Today, the National Labor Relations Board ruled in the long-awaited Browning-Ferris Industries of California case that companies can be held responsible for labor violations committed by their contractors. The decision can be found here.
According to The New York Times, the ruling means that “a company that hires a contractor to staff its facilities may be considered a so-called joint employer of the workers at that facility, even if it does not actively supervise them.” As a result, “a union representing those workers would now be legally entitled to bargain with the upstream company, not just the contractor, under federal labor law.” The decision opens the door to collective bargaining between workers and franchisors, such as McDonald’s, and may radically change how companies use contracted labor.
Daily News & Commentary
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May 21
Supreme Court grants the Trump Administration the ability to end Temporary Protected Status for Venezuelan immigrants; a federal judge permits airline customer service agents to pursue litigation rather than arbitration in a wage dispute; and NLRB prosecutors limit when they seek consequential remedies for unfair labor practices.
May 19
Schedule F comment period ends this week; Wilcox's reinstatement case is back before D.C. Circuit; NLRB removal protection case runs into jurisdictional problem; NJ locomotive strike ends in success.
May 18
In today’s news and commentary, the DC Circuit lifts a preliminary injunction on Trump’s collective bargaining ban for federal workers; HHS, DOL and Treasury pause a 2024 mental health parity regulation; and NJ Transit workers continue into the third day of a historic strike. In a 2-1 decision issued on Friday, the D.C. Circuit overturned […]
May 16
Supreme Court hears a case about universal injunctions; Champion of workers' rights announces run for Colorado Attorney General; Sesame Street is officially union!
May 15
Unions in Colorado urge Governor Polis to sign Senate Bill 5; more than 1200 Starbucks workers go on strike; and IATSE calls on President Trump to reinstate Shira Perlmutter.
May 14
District court upholds NLRB's constitutionality, NY budget caps damage awards, NMB or NLRB jurisdiction for SpaceX?