海角大神

In the war between fast food companies and their workers over higher wages and better working conditions, the companies haven鈥檛 lost many battles. They lost a big one this week. But can it lead to the higher pay and organizing power that food-service workers are hoping for?

In a decision that could ripple throughout the US fast food industry, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB)鈥檚 general counsel ruled Tuesday that McDonald鈥檚 can be held liable for labor and wage violations by its franchisees. That means McDonald鈥檚 can be named a 鈥渏oint employer鈥� in any future complaints or lawsuits filed against the franchisees who own and run individual or groups of McDonald鈥檚 restaurants, according to the ruling.

McDonald鈥檚 franchisees have faced several such lawsuits over the past year, alleging illegal practices like forcing employees to work off the clock, refusing to pay for uniforms, and denying overtime pay. Tuesday鈥檚 ruling also makes the company liable for union violations, like punishing or firing employees who organize in protest.聽

鈥淢cDonald鈥檚 can try to hide behind its franchisees, but there鈥檚 no two ways about it: The Golden Arches is an employer, plain and simple,鈥� Micah Wissinger, an attorney at Levy Ratner who brought the case on behalf of聽McDonald鈥檚 workers in New York, said in a press statement. 鈥淭he reality is that聽McDonald鈥檚 requires franchisees to adhere to such regimented rules and regulations that there鈥檚 no doubt who鈥檚 really in charge.鈥�

In the past, McDonald鈥檚 and other franchise-based food companies have maintained that they aren't responsible when franchisees bend or break labor laws because聽the corporation itself doesn鈥檛 actually own most restaurant locations and doesn鈥檛 play a part in day to day operations. Ninety percent of McDonald鈥檚 locations 鈥� and most other major fast food chains in the US, including Subway, Papa Johns, KFC 鈥� operate via franchise models.

However, labor advocates argue that the setup leaves McDonald鈥檚 with far more control than they claim while providing a convenient way to sidestep responsibility when rules are broken.

The NLRB鈥檚 decision 鈥渉as the potential to upend the fast-food industry's decades-long strategy of out-sourcing legal responsibility to franchisees when it comes to securing workers' rights,鈥� Mark Barenberg,聽a professor at Columbia Law School in New York, said in a statement. 鈥淐ompanies like聽McDonald鈥檚 insert an intermediary between themselves and workers, even though they're manifestly in control of the franchisees' employment decisions.鈥�

The ruling outraged the restaurant industry and the business community at large, which argue that it poses a threat to job creation and small business owners.

McDonald鈥檚 says it will fight the ruling. The Oak-Brook, Ill.-based burger giant 鈥渂elieves that this decision changes the rules for thousands of small businesses, and goes against decades of established law regarding the franchise model in the United States,"聽Heather Smedstad, a McDonald鈥檚 spokeswoman, said in a company statement. She added that along with other franchise-based businesses 鈥� including dry cleaners and auto dealerships 鈥� McDonald鈥檚 鈥渞elies on these existing rules to run successful businesses as part of a system that every day creates significant employment, entrepreneurial and economic opportunities across the country."

The National Retail Federation issued a statement saying the ruling 鈥済ives a whole new meaning to the word outrageous,鈥� and that the NLRB鈥檚 "contempt for hard working business men and women is on full display when they completely disregard established laws that govern the franchise model 鈥� a practice that has literally created thousands of small businesses in communities across America and employ millions of citizens of all ages.鈥�

So what does this mean for workers? For one, it could give them more bargaining power: McDonald鈥檚 workers have brought 181 complaints to the NLRB, alleging firing or other punishment for participating in worker strikes dating back to 2012. The NLRB鈥檚 legal counsel has found merit in 43 so far, and if the ruling is upheld, McDonald鈥檚 and the franchisees will be held accountable.

This would give workers the ability to organize and potentially unionize without repercussions; it also refutes the idea that franchisees act alone in setting worker wages.

But it鈥檚 a long way between more organizing power and a $15-an-hour wage. What鈥檚 more, McDonald鈥檚 looks to have industry backing in its fight against the ruling, and the the case could go all the way to the Supreme Court before it鈥檚 settled.聽