Google Dodges Joint Employer Bargaining Order Via Court Test (2)

Google LLC escaped a National Labor Relations Board order directing it to negotiate with a union representing contract workers it jointly employed through a now-expired contract for YouTube staffers.

The NLRB case involving Google and Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp.’s shared responsibility to bargain was rendered moot when Google let its labor contracting deal with Cognizant run out, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Tuesday.

Beyond vacating the board’s bargaining order, the court also voided the agency’s finding that the Alphabet Inc. subsidiary jointly employed the Cognizant workers. That holding could have helped the Alphabet ...