Are You a Joint Employer?

OMA Connections Partner, Bricker & Eckler LLP, notes that ” … today’s businesses use a variety of organizational and staffing models to run their operations.  They may share workers with other employers, engage independent contractors or use staffing agencies to supplement their workforce.  Although organizations may not consider workers who provide services under these arrangements to be employees in the traditional sense of the term, under the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division’s (DOL) recent Administrator’s Interpretation (AI), they may still be responsible for complying with the applicable employment laws as a joint employer.”

“In the AI, DOL states that it is taking an expansive interpretation of the term “employ” to ensure the scope of employment relationships and joint employment is “as broad as possible.”  Thus, it is likely that DOL will increasingly find that joint employment exists.

“All employers should be aware of DOL’s standards for determining joint employment status and the consequences of being deemed a joint employer.”  Read more from Bricker.