CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 22 states, opposed a proposed joint employment rule by the U.S. Department of Labor that would weaken worker protections and make it harder to hold employers accountable for wage theft and other labor law violations.

The proposed rule would narrow the standard for determining joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Joint employment means a worker may have more than one employer legally responsible for complying with worker protection laws. This occurs in many different workplaces, such as two restaurants with common management that share employees, or a general contractor that uses subcontractors and both control the work of employees.

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“Workers deserve protections on the job no matter who they are working for,” Raoul said. “Joint employment is increasingly common. Without strong standards in place, bad actors can use this arrangement to skirt laws that protect employees and gain unfair advantage over law-abiding employers. I call on the U.S. Department of Labor not to weaken this important standard, and I remain committed to fighting for workers’ rights.”

Joint employment standards are especially important in today’s economy as more businesses use staffing agencies, subcontractors, labor brokers, franchise arrangements, third-party management companies or other...

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