The following article was first published in the Employment Law Letter section of Shipman & Goodwin’s website. It is reposted here with permission.
Two months into the new year, federal labor agencies have announced significant regulatory changes that could reshape how your business engages staffing agencies, contractors, and gig workers.
On Feb. 26, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board formally reinstated its 2020 joint employer rule, while the U.S. Department of Labor proposed returning to the 2021 independent contractor test.
As we have covered in prior posts, both moves signal a meaningful shift toward employer-friendly labor standards. Here’s what you need to know.
The NLRB has formally returned to the joint employer standard established during President Trump’s first term, replacing the text of the vacated regulation with that of the previously adopted 2020 standard.
Under the 2020 standard, a company is considered a joint employer only if it possesses and actually exercises substantial, direct, and immediate control over essential terms and conditions of employment.
“Essential terms and conditions of employment” include wages, benefits, hours of work, hiring, discharge, discipline, supervision, and direction.
This approach stands in contrast to the 2023 regulation, which would have allowed joint employer findings based on indirect control or even reserved (but unexercised) authority—a standard similar to the Obama-era Browning-Ferris decision.
The 2023 rule...
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