Catherwood LibraryILR School

With the McDonald’s case beginning oral arguments today on the rights of franchise employees, and discussion over the rights and protections of independent contractors, temporary workers, and subcontractors continuing to dominate labor relations news, it appears apparent that two recent Obama appointees have done much to examine and support the rights of employees who are hired to do the work, but who are unable to get wage and other employment protections from the companies who hire them. Richard Griffin, the chief prosecutor for the National Labor Relations Board, who is leading the current franchising case against McDonald’s, and David Weil, wage and hour administrator at the Department of Labor, who wrote “The Fissured Workplace”, are frequently finding themselves in mutual agreement as they scrutinize how the trend of outsourcing work has made companies profitable while decreasing their responsibilities to employees. Their similar approaches to the issue have incurred scrutiny from industry leaders who rely on “fissuring” in today’s workplace.