Skip to Main Content

News

12.2.19

Jon Klinghoffer, a principal in the firm's Labor & Employment and Litigation Groups, is quoted in "Petitioning on Behalf of Interns Wasn't Covered by NLRA," published by SHRM.org in December 2019.

The article covers the recent Amnesty International of the USA Inc., 368 NLRB No. 112 determination by the National Labor Relations Board, which rejects the assertion that non-employees, such as interns, are protected by the National Labor Relations Act. 

"I think it is prudent to read this decision pretty narrowly and limit its applicability to unpaid volunteers and interns of nonprofit companies."
Jon Klinghoffer

"Repeatedly, in the body of its decision and in footnotes, the board focused on the not-for-profit nature of Amnesty International, so it is not perfectly clear how the decision will be applied to for-profit organizations," said Jon Klinghoffer. "As an employer, I think it is prudent to read this decision pretty narrowly and limit its applicability to unpaid volunteers and interns of nonprofit companies."

The article posits the results of this decision on other types of non-employees, such as gig workers and independent contractors, and whether this decision made in regards to a not-for-profit organization will carry over to for-profit companies.