One of the current trends in the employment industry is the use of contract labor. Usually, a business will contract employees through a temporary staffing agency to fill the company’s needs, whether it is for a short time frame or a longer period.
However, using temporary workers can lead to a number of issues for both the business placing the employees and the organization that has the contracted individuals working for them. A recent decision from the National Labor Relations Board helped to clarify what constitutes employment by multiple organizations.
Ruling
Earlier in 2015, the National Labor Relations Board issued a ruling regarding Browning-Ferris Industries of California. The decision clarified the concept of determining joint-employer status by stating that two or more businesses are joint employers of a group of people if both companies are employers within the meaning of the law and both organizations share or determine together the matters relating to the principle terms and conditions of employment. When determining if there is control over the workers to establish joint employment, the National Labor Relations Board will decide, among other factors, if an employer has established control over the employment terms and conditions through an intermediary or if the organization has reserved the right to exercise the control.
Reason For Decision
After studying the business model of Browning-Ferris Industries, the National Labor Relations Board determined that the company jointly employed workers with Leadpoint to perform job duties for Browning-Ferris. These job duties included but were not limited to cleaning and sorting recycled products. The National Labor Relations Board determined that Browning-Ferris Industries exerted both direct and indirect control over the employment terms and conditions as well as the ability to dictate those terms.
Analysis
There are a wide range of factors that all sides need to consider when a company uses temporary or contract employees. Some of these elements include workers compensation, time off requests, liability if an employee files a lawsuit or setting employee hours. At the same time, both parties should determine what side will be held accountable for any issues that may arise with the contract employee.
Conclusion
If a business is using or considering using contract or temporary employees, it can be useful to speak with a business attorney. Doing so will allow the company to get a better idea of what their liability may be as well as what is expected of them as an employer. In addition, the organization can understand how much responsibility they need to share with the staffing agency. Lastly, the business can determine if they need to take any further steps to ensure they are compliant will all regulations and if not, what they must do to ensure that they do not expose themselves to any problems down the road.