Various reports in the media over the past week have highlighted the recent National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) decision to classify some sub-contractors as “joint employees” and the confusion it has sown – especially in the home building industry. CNBC’s Realty Check reports that while [the]“NLRB’s ruling was based on a case in another industry, so it remains to be seen exactly how it would apply to the builders.”
“The homebuilding industry, which is primarily made up of small businesses who rely greatly on the work of subcontractors would overwhelmingly be harmed by the new standard,” said Tom Woods, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in a release. “It will cripple small businesses across the country, including the homebuilding industry as it is in its fragile recovery.”
Woods further stated that “The decision by the NLRB to expand the definition of a joint employer not only delivers a huge blow to businesses across the country who rely on the work of sub-contractors, by threatening a business owner’s control of their own company, but it is also bound to have a chilling effect on the overall economy and job growth.
This ruling potentially affects the real estate investment industry as well, as many of our members deal with contractors on a day-to-day basis.
Read the full story from CNBC, Homebuilders call new labor law ruling crippling
NAHB Statement on the NLRB Decision Expanding the Definition of a Joint Employer
Click here to read the NLRB decision
Updates:
Ruling Alarms Businesses, Columbus Dispatch (Ohio) editorial, 9/4/15
