On July 11, 2016, the National Labor Relations Board issued its opinion in Miller & Anderson, Inc., and held employer consent is no longer necessary for a union to organize a single bargaining unit consisting of both the employer’s regular employees and temporary workers that are supplied from other companies. In the wake of last year’s Browning-Ferris decision and the NLRB’s expansion of its joint employment standard, Miller & Anderson seems to be the latest effort of the NLRB to broaden the reach of the National Labor Relations Act. The decision reversed previous Board precedent, which gave employers discretion to consent to the inclusion of workers who are supplied by other companies into a single bargaining unit. Now, combined units may be approved if the workers share a community of interest. This decision is significant as it greatly expands employer’s bargaining obligations toward temporary workers and other supplied workers, and potentially lengthens the relationship between the parties.
For more details regarding the Miller & Anderson decision, as well as its potential impact on employers, click here.