Businesses brace for game-changing labor decision

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The Hill :

Business leaders in Washington are bracing for a labor ruling they warn would redefine what constitutes an “employer” in the United States, exposing thousands of companies to new liabilities and potentially upending entire industries.

 

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is widely expected to rule by month’s end that Browning-Ferris Industries, a Houston-based waste-disposal company, is a joint employer of workers provided to the firm by a staffing agency, experts say. As a result, the company would be forced to collectively bargain with those employees and could be held liable for any labor violations committed against them.

 

Such a decision could hit companies from a host of industries, including restaurants, retailers, manufacturers, construction companies, financial services providers, cleaning services, and security companies.

 

The expected action would be the latest in a string of major wins for labor groups under the Obama administration, which has already issued several sweeping executive actions on worker protections and wages.

 

Backers say it is a necessary step to protect a vulnerable class of temporary workers and independent contractors. But business groups fear the decision will wreak havoc throughout the private sector.