Court Ruling in NLRB Joint Employer Case Against CNN Points to Urgent Need for Reform
Today the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals gave a partial win to news network CNN in a labor dispute with the National Labor Relations Board over joint employer liability. In response, CEI labor policy expert Trey Kovacs commented on the case, NLRB v. CNN, and the urgent need for reforms at the NLRB:
The NLRB tried to label CNN as a joint employer without following the agency’s own precedent or explaining why its previous standard no longer applied or should be changed. Agencies cannot just change the rules that businesses depend on merely on a whim. Regulators must provide a reasoned explanation for overruling an important, longstanding policy. The NLRB desperately needs a fairer, balanced approach to resolving labor disputes. The Senate should make it a priority in September to confirm the President’s second nominee for the NLRB, William Emanuel, who will help provide needed leadership.
The case against CNN was initially instigated in 2007 by the AFL-CIO, unhappy over CNN’s decision to replace contract workers with direct employees. But then, in 2014, the NLRB abruptly deemed CNN a joint employer with its former contractor, which meant CNN had to abide by collective bargaining agreements the contractor had taken on. The CNN case is one of several NLRB joint employer cases that seek to expand employer liability. To read more about the CNN case, see the CEI reports, The NLRB Joint-Employer Cases and NLRB’s New Joint Employer Standard Threatens Business Formation and Job Creation.
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