Republican lawmakers are questioning a proposed new rule by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration, demanding in a letter Wednesday to the Labor Department that it turn over all internal deliberations regarding it.
The letter strongly implies that the department is working with a major labor organization, the Service Employees International Union, on adopting the rule, which would benefit SEIU’s labor organizing.
Reps. John Kline of Minnesota and Tim Walberg of Michigan, respectively the chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee and chairman of its Workforce Protections Subcommittee, wrote the letter, which was addressed to Labor Secretary Tom Perez. The letter reacts to a recent OSHA proposal to expand its rules for when a franchiser is legally responsible for safety violations at a franchisee’s business. Kline and Walberg strongly object to the proposal, arguing it will force the agency’s investigators to “delve into unrelated matters — financial and otherwise — far outside their expertise.”
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“OSHA already has a robust multi-employer citation policy. In undertaking determinations of whether a franchiser shares liability for the actions of its franchisees, OSHA inspectors are directed to consider who has control, responsibility or the ability to expose a worker to a hazard on a worksite. The department has not put forward any evidence to demonstrate the current multi-employer standard is not sufficient to hold accountable those who jeopardize employee health and safety,” the lawmakers wrote.
The letter requests numerous documents related to the proposal, including “a list of all meetings between the department and stakeholders, including but not limited to the Service Employees International Union, and all associated documents and communications.”
The SEIU has been a major force behind the effort to expand the “joint employer standard.” It has financed a major public relations campaign to target franchise restaurants, calling for higher wages and benefits. The effort is intended to pressure the franchisers to agree to unionizing the restaurants. SEIU spent $23 million on the effort in 2014 alone. It is the main entity funding the nonprofit activist group Fight for $15 that is pushing the $15 minimum wage.
The union’s effort has been stymied by the fact that most franchisees are legally separate businesses that merely rent out the franchiser’s name and brand. However, the National Labor Relations Board, the main federal labor law enforcement agency, is pursuing a labor rights violation case against McDonald’s Corp., that, if successful, could make franchisers legally reponsible for labor violations at their franchisees’ businesses. That would make it possible for SEIU or other unions to organize all McDonald’s restaurants at once by targeting the corporate parent.
The case is being closely watched by business groups, who argue the expanded liability could undermine the franchise business model. Franchisers would be confronted with the choice of severing all ties with franchises or asserting more control over their operations, taking control away from the local owners.
OSHA is proposing to adopt the same joint employer standard for safety issues. The labor board is not part of the Labor Department but an independent agency whose members are nominated by President Obama. Kline and Walberg apparently also suspect the agency is working with OSHA on the rule. The letter requests all communications between it and the labor board, as well as other documents.
Laura McGinnis, a spokeswoman for the Labor Department, said officials were still reviewing the letter.
