NLRB supports joint employer ruling that changes the U.S. workforce

Labor lawyer, Andrew Strom, joined the America’s Work Force Union Podcast to discuss the recent NLRB decision in support of a lower court ruling on joint employers. Strom also talked about the complaints from the decision and some of the liability changes for workers and employers.

The National Labor Relation Board has come to a decision that supports a lower court ruling that a corporation is responsible for its contractors employed by a third-party company. These third-party companies include staffing agencies and contractors. While the workers are employed by third-party companies, the corporation has all decision-making power. With the decision supporting the lower court ruling, corporations now have total liability and responsibility for these workers, and workers can now engage in bargaining directly with the corporations.

According to Strom, there are now complaints that this decision will destroy smaller companies and eliminate the use of contractors. While Strom says that promise is unlikely, he added that it was unfair for corporations to use contractors to avoid liability in the first place. There are still protections for the corporations, as Strom points out, but this decision evens out the ability for workers to negotiate. According to the National Labor Relations Act, each employer is only responsible for bargaining on topics they are involved with, meaning workers will still need to bargain with both the contractor and the hiring corporation.

Along with the liability standards, one of the big changes impacts retaining workers. As joint employers, the third-party company directly employing workers can determine the employment for workers and terminate their employment if they choose, and the hiring corporation is not liable. This comes with the burden of proving the worker was fired for just cause by the third-party employer. Overall, the decision improves workers' ability to bargain for benefits and protections even as contract workers are hired through another employer.

To hear more from Strom on the NLRB decision, please play the show above.