05/22/2023 10:00 AM EDT
With help from Nick Niedzwiadek.
SPOTLIGHT ON STAR GARDEN: Dancers at a North Hollywood topless bar voted to be represented by Actors’ Equity Association last week, setting them up to be the only unionized strippers in the U.S., according to the union.
But beyond the headlines, the Star Garden case might have also revealed something about the NLRB: the agency’s thinking on factors for worker classification.
In a request for review of the election, the company argued in part that the dancers were not employees, but rather independent performers leasing space in the club. The review was denied by the board.
That could open the door to other workers in similar arrangements, like hair stylists or workout class instructors.
“Just because somebody’s leasing a chair in a salon or other types of situations like that … Still, nonetheless, they say, ‘No, these people are employees,’” Michael J. Lotito, who represents employers at the law firm Littler, said of the NLRB.
The case is “one tiny indication” that board members will look past employment designs “that are structured, in part, to create an independent contractor presumption,” he said.
Employers are closely watching classification issues, as the Labor Department is slated to release a rule on independent contractor classification this month. Additionally, the NLRB is also set to release a decision related to the issue...
IDF Spokesperson Brig. Gen. Effie Defrin has rejected allegations raised in promotional material for “Naza,” saying the film presents a false and distorted account of the Israeli military and its ...