Great Scott! In another Department of Labor (DOL) reversal of its own rulemaking during the Trump Administration, the Final Rule, Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which had gone into effect (and I wrote about here) March 16, 2020, has been rescinded. Effective September 28, 2021 [UPDATE: October 5,
DOL Issues New Rule for Determining Joint Employers Under FLSA
*UPDATE – THE FINAL RULE WAS RESCINDED JULY 30, 2021 AND IS NO LONGER LAW.
So this is exciting! No, really, it is! As you know, under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the employee of one company can be found to be a “joint employee” of another, making both jointly and severally liable for
DOL Issues Proposed Rule Clarifying “Joint Employer” Under Four Part Test
On April 1, 2019, the DOL issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM), relating to whether two or more entities are “joint employers” for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This arrangement becomes significant when determining overtime for an individual who does not work overtime at either employer, but combined, does (and thus,
DOL Issues Administration Interpretation Letter Expanding Definition of “Joint Employment”
On January 20, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division issued Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2016-1. 
The guidance letter issued by DOL Administrator David Weil provides expansive definitions of joint employment—broader than the common law test, the OSHA test, and the NLRB’s new Browning-Ferris test, ensuring “that the scope of employment relationships and joint employment under the FLSA and MSPA is as broad as possible.” Businesses in the construction, staffing, janitorial, warehouse, restaurant, and hospitality industries, as well as any business that provides or uses contract labor, are particularly likely to be impacted by this letter.
While this sounds illogical, under the FLSA, an employee can actually have two employers while performing the same work.
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