If an assembly line worker regularly logs overtime hours but has never gotten paid for them, should the company that owns the manufacturing plant be liable? What if she was hired not by the manufacturer, but by a staffing agency that the manufacturer uses to fill factory jobs? Historically, both her staffing agency and the manufacturing company are likely responsible under the “Joint Employer Rule,” a legal concept ensures that companies who use subcontracted labor can be held accountable for violations of workplace laws.
But now the U.S. Department of Labor wants to change the rules to make it easier for companies to evade responsibility. The DOL has proposed a change to the joint employer rule that would create a narrower test for determining whether a joint employment relationship exists. If the rule is adopted as the DOL has proposed, workers in already precarious sectors of the workforce are likely to experience deteriorating working conditions and have a more difficult time enforcing their rights. The proposed rule would make it harder for large employers who use subcontractors to be held liable and it will likely cause employers to increase their use of outsourcing.
The National Employment Law Project opposes DOL’s proposed change. In partnership with Governing for Impact, NELP submitted a comment opposing the Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) proposed rule regarding the joint employment standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the Family and Medical Leave...
Gets 15 months in federal prison A former New York City correction officer was sentenced Tuesday to 15 months in federal prison after admitting he falsely claimed that he suffered injuries on the j...