[NOTE 9/2019: Not anymore. The information in this post has been superseded by a later NLRB decision. In Sept. 2019, the NLRB ruled that independent contractor misclassification is not an automatic violation of the NLRA.  It still can be, but it is no longer automatically a violation. Read more here.]

Here’s the original post:

The past two weekends, we have seen NFL players link arms in solidarity. They protest mistreatment and injustice in society, not mistreatment and injustice by their employers. In fact, there have been several instances where owners and coaches have joined in.

Had the players been protesting actions by their employers — their teams — their actions likely would be considered “protected concerted activity” under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). The NLRA grants employees the right to act collectively to protest terms or conditions of their employment. Employees have these rights even if there is no union.

NLRA rights apply only to employees, not to independent contractors. Independent contractors have no right under the NLRA to engage in collective behavior. In fact, antitrust laws can sometimes prohibit independent contractors from acting collectively — such as in price fixing.

So let’s get to the issue that is the focus of this blog — the issue of Independent Contractor vs. Employee.

Here’s the question of the day:

If independent contractors have no rights under the NLRA but employees do, can the mere act of misclassifying independent contractors be considered a denial of NLRA rights? 

Yes, said an Administrative Law Judge in a recent case involving couriers.

Here’s the judge’s reasoning: Employees have NLRA rights, allowing them to act collectively. An employer violates the NLRA by denying an employee the right to act collectively. Protected concerted activity can include discussing wages with co-workers, discussing discipline, speaking out against a supervisor, criticizing work conditions, and a broad range of other activities (many of which you probably never thought were protected).

Independent contractors do not have these rights because the NLRA applies only to employees. By misclassifying a worker as a contractor, the judge ruled, a business is essentially telling the worker — who is actually an employee — that he has none of these rights.

Telling an employee that he has no right to engage in protected concerted activity is pretty clearly a violation of the NLRA.

And there you go.

So what does that mean for businesses that use independent contractors? In other posts, we have discussed many of the negative consequences of independent contractor misclassification. A business that has misclassified workers as independent contractors (when they should really be deemed employees) can be liable for failure to pay employment taxes, failure to provide workers’ compensation and unemployment coverage, failure to follow hiring and paycheck laws, failure to provide employee benefits, and more.

Now add to that list a possible automatic violation of the National Labor Relations Act — at least according to this judge.

You can’t see me, but I am kneeling in protest.

© 2017 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.