The U.S. Supreme Court case National Labor Relations Board v. Rockaway News Supply Co., Inc., in 1952, revolved around the issue of whether an employer's refusal to bargain with a labor union constituted unfair labor practices under Section 8(a)(5) and (1) of the National Labor Relations Act. The company had refused to negotiate on the grounds that it believed some employees who voted for representation by the union were ineligible because they were supervisors rather than regular workers. The court ruled in favor of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), stating that if there was any question about voter eligibility, it should have been raised during or before NLRB hearings regarding representation; refusing to bargain after such certification is not permissible as per law. Therefore, Rockaway News Supply Co.'s refusal constituted an unfair labor practice.

In the dissenting opinion for the National Labor Relations Board v. Rockaway News Supply Co., Inc., Justice Robert H. Jackson disagreed with the majority's interpretation of "employee" under Section 2(3) of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). He argued that independent contractors, like newspaper carriers in this case, should not be considered employees as they operate their own businesses and are free from control by any employer in terms of how they conduct their business operations. According to him, these individuals bear entrepreneurial risk and have a chance to profit based on their management skills which is unlike typical employees who do not share such risks or opportunities. Therefore, he believed that including them within NLRA's definition would distort its purpose and could lead to unnecessary labor disputes involving parties who were never intended to be covered by it.