featherbedding: Meaning and Definition of

feath•er•bed•ding

Pronunciation: (fe'ur-bed"ing), [key]
— n.
  1. the practice of requiring an employer to hire unnecessary employees, to assign unnecessary work, or to limit production according to a union rule or safety statute: Featherbedding forced the railroads to employ firemen on diesel locomotives.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
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