Public Justice’s Sarah Belton Applauds NLRB Franchise Ruling in the New York Times
photo credit: Steve Rhodes via photopin cc
Read Cartwright-Baron Attorney Sarah Belton‘s New York Times letter to the editor on the National Labor Relations Board’s decision on corporations being responsible for workers’ rights:
McDonald’s Labor Ruling
Tuesday’s decision of the National Labor Relations Board is a vital step in reminding companies that they can’t hide behind labels or a franchise system to avoid complying with our labor laws.
Our country is in the middle of a critical conversation about poverty, income inequality and the rights of workers to a living wage. Integral to this dialogue is today’s focus on the bottom line that often stresses cutting costs, like labor, in the hopes of raising profits.
Some businesses misclassify their workers as independent contractors to cut costs; others use agencies to hire temporary workers who often work for years performing the same duties as permanent employees without the job security and employment benefits.
Companies like McDonald’s exert a tremendous amount of control over the employment practices of their franchisees and then disavow responsibility for resulting labor violations. Allowing companies to game the system to prioritize profits comes with a cost: American taxpayers spend over a billion dollars a year on public assistance to McDonald’s workers.
Also, read Sarah’s blog post on how the franchise model and labor and wage violations go together here.
