Impact | Business Risk Management Blog

The Department of Labor’s new guidance about what constitutes a “joint employer” should cause businesses that use staffing agencies or other indirect “employment” structures or relationships to carefully review these arrangements.

Specifically, on Jan. 20, 2016, in a departure from what had been somewhat settled, the DOL issued guidance interpreting “joint employer” expansively, making clear that a business may be held liable for Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Migrant & Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) violations committed by a “joint employer.”