Google, NCAA Joint Employer Disputes Are a Labor Board Rarity

Alphabet Inc.’s Google has found itself at the center of the joint employer debate in labor law now that contract workers directly employed by Accenture have voted 26-2 to unionize.

The Alphabet Workers Union’s Nov. 6 election win marks the second time a group of workers jointly employed by Google formed a union. The technology giant has asked the National Labor Relations Board to review an agency official’s prior determination that Google and Accenture are joint employers.

The NLRB already rejected Google’s challenge to the joint employer finding that requires it to negotiate with a union of YouTube workers hired ...