By James Pieper
On June 7, 2017, new Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta withdrew guidance provided under the prior administration by the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that had staked out a broader interpretation of when “joint employment” exists pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).
When two or more employers “jointly” employ an employee, the employee’s hours worked for all of the joint employers during the workweek are aggregated and considered as one employment, including for purposes of calculating whether overtime pay is due. Additionally, when “joint employment” is found to exist, all of the joint employers are jointly and severally liable for compliance with the FLSA and MSPA.
Under a traditional “common law” approach to employment, such “joint employment” would only exist if both employers are able to exercise “control” over the employee’s work. The 2016 guidance sought to recognize “broader economic realities of the working relationship” and thus “cover some parties who might not qualify as [employees] under a strict application of traditional agency law principles.”
Accordingly, the guidance indicated that a number of scenarios that have not been historically considered “joint employment” – including, particularly, franchisee, staffing-agency and subcontractor relationships – might give rise to “joint employment” under the FLSA and MSPA, thus broadening the potential legal exposure for entities that had in the past not been considered joint employers. The intent of the Department of Labor to implement such a broader interpretation is now withdrawn.
Although the action reduces some of the potential legal risk, particularly for franchisors and franchisees – who had actively sought the withdrawal of the guidance – the potential for “joint employment” remains a complex area requiring careful attention to potential penalties.
© 2017 Vandenack Weaver LLC
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