In a statement on Friday, the Justice Department’s antitrust division has urged the National Labor Relations Board to clarify how it defines an employee.
The DOJ’s statement came in a dispute between make-up artists and other stylists working for The Atlanta Opera, in which the NLRB found the workers to be employees and not independent contractors, reported The Information.
“Millions of American workers who, until recently, would have been properly classified as employees have seen their work recategorized as independent contracting and have thereby lost crucial [labor] protections,” the DOJ said in urging the NLRB to clarify the definition of how employees are classified. “This trend has been accelerated by the rapid rise of digital platform intermediaries, whose core business model often relies on coordinating the work of large numbers of workers while disclaiming the traditional responsibilities of an employer.”
“Given the close practical relationship between the NLRB’s definition of “employment” and the availability of these antitrust exemptions, any ambiguity in interpreting the NLRB’s “employee” standard created by recent economic changes may have significant consequences for antitrust enforcement, to the detriment of workers and employers alike. Additionally, a growing consensus suggests that a vague or under-inclusive standard also may risk harming competition directly, both by reducing the ability of workers to resist anticompetitive terms and conditions of employment and by creating opportunities for employers to undercut competition by misclassifying their own employees. The Division therefore supports the NLRB in its efforts to modernize its standard in a way that reflects these significant, recent changes in our national economy and advances the shared goals of both the antitrust laws and the NLRA.”
Want more news? Subscribe to CPI’s free daily newsletter for more headlines and updates on antitrust developments around the world.
Featured News
T-Mobile Faces Class-Action Lawsuit Over Sprint Merger After Appeal Denied
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
Google Faces Backlash Over Introduction of AI-Generated Summaries in Searches
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
CMA Launches Phase 2 Probe into AlphaTheta’s Acquisition of Serato
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
NFL Executive Escapes Testifying in High-Stakes Trial Over Televised Games
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
EU Consumers Lodge Complaint Against Chinese Retailer Temu Over Content Rules Breach
May 16, 2024 by
CPI
Antitrust Mix by CPI
Antitrust Chronicle® – Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Mapping Antitrust onto Digital Ecosystems
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystems and Competition Law: A Law and Political Economy Approach
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Ecosystem Theories of Harm: What is Beyond the Buzzword?
May 9, 2024 by
CPI
Open Ecosystems: Benefits, Challenges, and Implications for Antitrust
May 9, 2024 by
CPI