Knoxville News Sentinel: NLRB joint employer ruling stirs union concerns; Sen. Lamar Alexander opposed
Sen. Lamar Alexander is taking on the National Labor Relations Board again, this time over a ruling that he argues is the biggest attack on business he has seen in years.
At issue is a 3-2 decision by the board in August that expanded the definition of what it means to be a “joint employer.”
Before the ruling, companies could be held responsible only for employees under their control. But the labor board redefined the standard that had been in place since the 1980s to say that two or more companies could be considered joint employers if they had indirect control over the working conditions of employees such as contractors, franchisees and temporary workers.
The decision gives unions that seek to represent workers at fast-food restaurants and chain stores that rely on contractors and franchisees legal ground to seek collective bargaining rights from the parent company.
The NLRB noted that millions of workers are now employed through temporary agencies. The revision, the majority ruled, was needed to reflect changes in the workplace and economy.
But Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, complains the new standard could “steal the American dream” from 780,000 franchise businesses, as well as other small businesses.
“It threatens to destroy that free enterprise, entrepreneurial spirit,” he said at an October hearing of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which he chairs.
The new standard “will make big businesses bigger and make the middle class smaller by discouraging larger companies from franchising and contracting work to small businesses,” he said.
Trade groups including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Federation of Independent Business, the National Retail Federation and the National Restaurant Association also have spoken out against the ruling, arguing it would reduce employer flexibility and competition and stunt businesses’ growth.
The new standard increases the likelihood of union campaigns against national businesses, while forcing small businesses to become engaged in costly legal battles, the International Franchise Association said.
In September, Alexander took the first steps to roll back the new standard when he filed legislation to reaffirm that an employer must have “actual, direct and immediate” control over a worker to be considered a joint employer.
“Congress must act as soon as possible to stop this destructive policy change from damaging the middle-class growth that has made this nation what it is today,” Alexander said.
Alexander has taken issue before with the labor board, which mediates disputes between employers and their workers.
Congressional Republicans and business groups charge that, under President Barack Obama, the board too often has come down on the side of organized labor. They have questioned new board rules that shorten the time for holding union elections, open the doors for some college athletes to unionize and allow unions to form micro-bargaining units, or “micro-unions.”
Last year, Alexander filed a bill that he said would overhaul the panel and make it act more like an umpire and less like an advocate.
The current board is composed of three Democrats and two Republicans. Alexander’s proposal would add another member, requiring an even split among Democrats and Republicans. Other proposals would encourage speedy decisions and limit the authority of the board’s general counsel, who critics argue has filed questionable complaints they contend are beyond the scope of federal labor laws.
