The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) announced that it supports the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB) regulatory proposal to establish a standard for determinations of joint-employer status.

“NWRA appreciates NLRB’s recognition that the current situation lacks the clarity and consistency that businesses require in order to comply,” said NWRA in a statement. “Safety is the top concern for NWRA and our members. We want every single member of our industry to make it home each day safely, free from injury or fatality. We believe that a clear delineation of employer responsibility as the NLRB proposes in this new rule will help ensure a safe workplace, whereas a blanket assumption of joint-employer status can result in confusing and conflicting directives that make employees less, not more, safe.”

The solid waste industry directly employs about 420,000 people as of early 2018, noted NWRA. It is estimated that the private sector waste and recycling industry is responsible for sustaining more than one million jobs.

NWRA’s membership includes the parent company of Browning-Ferris Industries (BFI), which was at the center of NLRB’s 2015 decision that changed the long-standing definition of what constituted a joint-employer. This ruling directly applied to and impacted the waste and recycling industry.

Read the full letter NWRA submitted to NLRB on behalf of the waste and recycling industry.