The Republican-controlled National Labor Relations Board moved quickly last week to overturn a host of Obama-era panel decisions. The board adopted a more narrow definition of “joint employer,” took steps to undo sped-up union elections and voided wide-reaching changes to employee-handbook policies.
“What is striking is the rapidity with which these major decisions overruling precedent, some involving reversal of precedent and others that reconsider the rulemaking, for major deliberative matters,” said Wilma Liebman, a former Democratic NLRB member who once served as chairwoman. “They clearly came to the board knowing what they wanted to do.”
Here’s a look at some of the big developments from the week.What happened last week and why was it important?
The NLRB’s decision in 2015 in the case Browning-Ferris Industries v. NLRB was one of the most divisive of the Obama-era labor board. The ruling widened the definition of who is considered an employer when it comes to labor violations, collective bargaining and other benefits. Companies did not like Browning-Ferris, a ruling that essentially put chains and big companies on the hook for franchises and contractors.
The business community said it went too far. Workers’ rights groups said it ensured protections for contractors and employees who often fell through the cracks.The labor board, in a decision issued Thursday night, will move forward with a new standard that defines an employer as one with “direct” control rather “indirect,” rolling back the 2015 decision. McDonald’s Corp. has a big case pending for an administrative law judge surrounding the question of indirect control, and it remains to be seen what will now happen with that case, for example, given the new directive.
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