Eastern Fisheries Inc., a global supplier of seafood based in New Bedford, Massachusetts, announced Monday that it is going to employ workers directly instead of through staffing firms. Eastern Fisheries said it has long used staffing firms, but the decision to employ workers directly comes after a decision in an NLRB case.

The company said one worker from a staffing firm had filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board claiming the company had improperly asked the staffing firm to stop sending the employee to its workplace. Eastern Fisheries said that while it wished it had handled the individual situation differently, the matter is resolved, and the employee is back with the company with full back pay for any time missed.

However, Eastern Fisheries reported the NLRB determined it was a joint employer with staffing firms, and the company said the repercussions mean there is no longer legal separation between the company and the staffing firm.

“In examining the implications of joint employment, it was my decision to end all of our staffing agency agreements and, going forward, to revise the terms under which we might use temp agency services,” said Joe Furtado, executive VP at Eastern Fisheries.

“For the benefit of the affected workers, we did not do this abruptly,” Furtado continued. “We provided two months’ notice to each of the staffing agency employees impacted. We offered each and every person the opportunity to immediately apply for direct hire with our company to their former positions, with equal pay and a better benefits package.”

The American Staffing Association noted in a statement that joint employment has been around a while.

“Joint employment is an inherent part of the staffing relationship and is not something that is new,” the ASA said in a statement. “The flexibility and efficiencies that staffing affords outweigh any potential joint employment concerns, and in some contexts, such as a staffing firm’s workers’ compensation coverage, joint employment can actually protect staffing clients from liability.”

Eastern Fisheries noted a two-month transition period ended last Friday, but it is making sure that all former staffing firm employees are able to be hired on directly for their jobs.

Controversy around the move also appears to be coming from workers, according to media sources. SeafoodSource reported on Tuesday that 110 employees were affected but just five had been rehired.