What the Browning-Ferris Decision May Forecast for Wage and Hour Law

The National Labor Relations Board’s decision in Browning-Ferris Industries of California, Inc., announced last week, dramatically expands joint employer liability under the National Labor Relations Act. A business can be found to be a joint employer of individuals, the Board concluded, even if the business has only unexercised potential power to control the individuals’ work indirectly. The Board argues that this broad concept of joint employment is necessary because otherwise an entity with real control over the economics of a business could insulate itself from the obligations of an employer by contracting with a third party to employ the workers who keep the business running. Seyfarth Shaw’s discussion of the ramifications of the Browning Ferris decision, for both unionized and non-unionized employers, is available here.

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