I ran a search for songs about Washington DC. I didn’t recognize any that popped up, but there is one that caught my eye — and ear.
“Washington DC Hospital Center Blues” is a 1966 release by blues guitarist Skip James. You can check it out here.
Although it may seem like nothing newsworthy is happening in DC lately (tee hee hee, bahahahaha), there is a DC Court of Appeals case worth watching.
The NLRB had ruled that Google is a joint employer of YouTube contract workers, who are represented by the Alphabet Workers Union. The impact of NLRB’s decision would be that Google is forced to the bargaining table to negotiate with workers it does not directly employ. Google defied the order and appealed to the DC Court of Appeals, arguing that it is not a joint employer.
There are a few joint employment issues in the case that are worth watching:
First, what is the proper test for joint employment under the NLRA? Historically, courts have held that a common law right-to-control test applies, but the NLRB keeps issuing its own regulations defining (and changing) the joint employer test.
Second, will courts pay any attention to what the NLRB thinks the test is? If the proper test is a common law test, then the courts don’t need the NLRB to tell it what the common law is.
Finally, whatever the DC Circuit decides, will the NLRB listen? Historically, the NLRB follows the doctrine of non-acquiescence. That’s a fancy of way of saying it doesn’t care what the courts say. If it wasn’t the Supreme Court that ruled, the NLRB tends to ignore the ruling, except as it applies in that particular dispute.
If you’re looking for something interesting that might be happening in DC, this case is a good one to follow.
Oral arguments are scheduled for today.
© 2024 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.
