Former union advisor and gig-economy critic pushed dangerous expansion of joint-employer standard

Washington, D.C. – The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW), composed of hundreds of organizations representing millions of businesses that employ tens of millions of workers nationwide in nearly every industry, released the following statement today in response to the nomination hearing of Dr. David Weil to be the Administrator of the Wage and Hour Division for the Department of Labor (DOL).

The following statement is attributable to CDW Chair Kristen Swearingen:

“Dr. David Weil has spent his career attacking the gig-economy and advocating for an expanded joint-employer standard that would destroy the franchise economy, harm hundreds of thousands of small local businesses and risk millions of jobs. With him in charge of DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, we can expect him to do everything in his power to push his radical agenda through this administration.

“An expanded joint-employer standard would upend the entire franchise industry by turning small business owners into middle managers between their brands and union bosses, hindering existing owners from making a living and killing the dreams of budding entrepreneurs of owning their own business. Data shows that expanding the joint-employer standard would cost the economy between $17.2 to $33.3 billion annually from lost economic output from the franchise industry alone.

“Workers across the country have sought out independent contracting roles and elected to participate in the gig-economy because of the freedom and flexibility it provides. As these entrepreneurs, including many working mothers, attempt to get back on their feet after the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Weil would pull the rug from underneath them as he pushes his radical agenda that would limit opportunities for independent contractors.

“We strongly urge Congress to reject Dr. Weil’s nomination to protect the millions of jobs supported by the gig-economy and franchise industry.”

 

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About The Coalition for a Democratic Workplace

CDW is a broad-based coalition of hundreds of organizations representing hundreds of thousands of employers and millions of employees in various industries across the country concerned with a long-standing effort by some in the labor movement to make radical changes to the National Labor Relations Act without regard to the severely negative impact they would have on employees, employers, and the economy. CDW was originally formed in 2005 in opposition to the so-called Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) – a bill similar to the PRO Act – that would have stripped employees of the right to secret ballots in union representation elections and allowed arbitrators to set contract terms regardless of the consequence to workers or businesses.

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