Does an employer who genuinely believes that its workers are independent contractors and tells them that they are contractors and not employees, only to later find out that it was wrong, violate Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA or Act)? Unions and workers’ advocates argue that such erroneous classifications/announcements should be illegal because when an employer misclassifies statutorily covered employees, they effectively convey the message to the employees that they have no rights under the law when, in fact, they do. Recognizing the importance of this issue, on February 15, 2018, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or Board) issued a Notice and Invitation to parties in a pending matter, Velox Express, Inc., Case No 15-CA-184006 and interested amici to file briefs to address the following question:
Under what circumstances, if any, should the Board deem an employer’s act of misclassifying statutory employees as independent contractors a violation of Section 8(a)(1) of the Act? Continue Reading An Employer’s Erroneous Announcement To Employees Declaring Them Independent Contractors Does Not, Standing Alone, Violate The NLRA