The doctrine “joint employer” liability has received significant attention in recent months, including on this blog. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, an employee may be deemed to have multiple employers—each of whom would be liable jointly for all aspects of FLSA compliance, including with regard to the payment of wages—in connection with his or her performance of the same work. During the prior administration, the U.S. DOL issued a rule intended to standardize the parameters of joint employer liability. Months later, however, a federal court invalidated a portion of the new rule, holding that it impermissibly narrowed the scope of the joint employer doctrine. And, in July 2021, the DOL announced its outright repeal of the rule—i.e., whether a business might face joint employer liability will again be governed by the multi-factor “economic reality” test subject to varying judicial interpretations.
An important new development in New York law, however, essentially renders the concept of joint employment, and the standards that govern it, a moot point—at least in terms of wage liability in the construction industry. In September 2021, Governor Hochul signed Senate Bill S2766C (A3350), titled “An act to amend the labor law and the general business law, in relation to actions for non-payment of wages,” which adds new sections to the New York Labor Law (198-e) and General Business Law (756-f). As stated in the bill’s Justification, the law is intended to “provide New York...
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) has opened an investigation into an individual for spreading false information regarding diesel fuel being supplied to t...