NW&RA Files NLRB Brief Supporting Republic in Labor IssueNW&RA Files NLRB Brief Supporting Republic in Labor Issue

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NW&RA) joined two other associations in supporting Republic Services Inc. in a labor issue.

The Washington-based NW&RA, along with the National Association of Manufacturers and National Restaurant Association, filed an amicus brief with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) supporting Phoenix-based Republic, in a case involving the application of the Joint Employer Standard at its Newby Island recycling facility in Milpitas, Calif.

 The Joint Employer Standard is the legal requirement by which temporary employees are considered the employees of the staffing agency responsible for their hiring, supervision and pay, not the host facility where they are assigned to work, according to a news release.

 The NW&RA amicus brief was one of many filed in the case supporting the Joint Employer Standard. Unions filed a number of briefs asking the NLRB to modify the standard.

“This case is very important to all employers, including waste and recycling companies,” said David Biderman, general counsel for the NW&RA. “This is the first time we have filed with the NLRB in my 17 years at the association.”

 Added Sharon Kneiss, president and CEO of the association, “Our companies have developed operational practices and procedures that are reliant on the present Joint Employer Standard. Changing this standard would disrupt operations, would likely increase costs and would impair our members’ ability to respond to changing market conditions and demands.”