The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized revisions to its regulations setting forth how joint employer status should be determined under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The revised regulations were issued by DOL’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) and published in the Federal Register on January 16, 2020. They are scheduled to go into effect on March 16, 2020.
The revised regulations supersede largely outdated regulations that were issued way back in 1958, and which were interpreted by DOL during the Obama Administration to take an expansive view of joint employment that made it much more likely that two entities with some kind of business relationship would be jointly liable for alleged wage and hour violations.
According to DOL’s January 16 Federal Register notice, the revised regulations will “promote certainty for employers and employees, reduce litigation, promote greater uniformity among court decisions, and encourage innovation in the economy,” and are consistent with the Trump Administration’s ongoing effort to establish a more balanced and predictable joint employer test under all of the federal employment laws.
Members of the Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC) can read more here.