On April 23, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division issued a proposed rule seeking to establish a unified “Joint Employer” test under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).
The proposed rule sets forth two standards of joint employment: vertical joint employment and horizontal joint employment. In either scenario, a determination that two or more entities are joint employers means that they are jointly and severally liable for compliance with the FLSA, i.e., responsible for complying with overtime provisions and ensuring minimum wage is paid for all hours worked by the employee in the workweek.
