Hotel Covered by Property Manager’s CBA Based on ‘Joint Employer,’ Agency Scheme

A New York City hotel owner is bound by a collective bargaining agreement executed by a management company before it began operating the property, based on the entities’ “joint employer” and agency relationship, a federal district court ruled Sept. 29 Chelsea Grand, LLC v. N.Y. Hotel & Motel Trades Council, S.D.N.Y., 1:07-cv-02614, 9/29/14.

Although Chelsea Grand LLC argued that it was the sole employer of workers at its Manhattan hotel, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York found that management agent Interstate Hotels & Resorts wielded sufficient control over the employees’ hiring and firing, ...