Antitrust Law Daily Wrap Up, FRANCHISING & DISTRIBUTION NEWS—Lawmakers react to NLRB General Counsel’s view that McDonald’s is a joint employer, (Jul 31, 2014)
Organizations Mentioned:International Franchise Association | McDonald's | McDonald’s, USA, LLC
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) stirred a hornet’s nest recently when its Office of the General Counsel announced that McDonald’s will be named as a joint employer respondent with regard to any unresolved charges against its franchisees, stemming from worker protests.
McDonald’s was quick to respond, denying any joint employer relationship with its franchisees. The International Franchise Association (IFA) also weighed in. IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira, CFE, quickly released a statement, stating that “the decision by the NLRB Division of Advice recommending franchisors and franchisees can be designated as joint-employers” is “both wrong and unjustified.” Federal lawmakers also responded.
On Capitol Hill, the development drew the ire of leading Republican lawmakers. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman John Kline (R-Minn.) issued a statement responding to the development, saying that the General Counsel has “determined McDonald’s Corp. and its franchisees are ‘joint employers’” — a decision he called “detached from reality.”
“While the board is considering this very issue, the general counsel is trying to rewrite the franchise model workers, employers, and consumers have known for decades,” Kline charged. “This is yet another activist decision from the general counsel's office. Big Labor has scored once again at the expense of workers and employers. Let’s hope wiser heads prevail and this absurd decision is rejected.”
On the Senate side, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.), the senior Republican on the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, also reacted quickly. “Imagine being an owner of a franchise business and being told that all the employees that you recruit, hire, train, pay, promote, and work alongside day after day are actually another company’s employees, too,” he said. “The NLRB General Counsel’s absurd determination ignores decades of precedent and plain old common sense in what can only be an effort to help labor unions add more members. It’s time to change the Board for good and ensure it’s the umpire it’s intended to be, not the advocate it’s become.”
Companies: McDonald’s, USA, LLC
News: FranchisingDistribution