On January 16, 2020, the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL)
officially issued a new rule (Rule) that
materially narrows the DOL’s joint employer
test.1 The Rule is effective March 16, 2020.
In the Rule, the DOL addressed two different potential joint
employer situations. The first (and the most common) is where one
employer directly employs the worker but another employer
simultaneously benefits from the employee’s work, such as
where a staffing firm assigns its employees to work for a client
employer. The second is where two employers with certain
connections each employ the worker for part of the same workweek,
such as where an employee works 30 hours for one employer and 20
hours for another employer. Below is a summary how the new Rule
will apply to each scenario.
