Murphy Anderson files amicus brief for NELA in NLRB independent contractor case
Murphy Anderson filed an amicus brief for the National Employment Lawyers Association on January 28, 2022 with the NLRB in Atlanta Opera, 10-RC-276292, in which the Board asked for comment on the Board's test distinguishing independent contractors from employees.
The brief argues that gig-economy employers who claim that their workers are really "independent entrepreneurs" are putting themselves in danger of serious consequences under antitrust and trademark law. The brief urges the NLRB to coordinate with the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice Antitrust Division to ensure appropriate antitrust review of business models that assert they are coordinating and fixing prices for independent businesses. The brief argues that in most cases, such alleged "independent contractors" are really employees under the common law of agency. But if they are not, the gig employers asserting their independence should be reviewed for compliance with the Sherman and Lanham Acts