Overview
- The Wage and Hour Division released the proposal Wednesday and Thursday, opening a 60‑day comment window that runs through June 22.
- The draft sets one nationwide framework under the FLSA, FMLA, and MSPA, using a four‑factor test for vertical joint employment and a “sufficiently associated” test for horizontal cases.
- The Department places greater weight on actual, day‑to‑day control than on contract rights to control, while still treating reserved and indirect control as part of the analysis.
- The proposal says skills, profit‑and‑loss opportunity, and investment in tools are irrelevant, and it states that franchising, sample handbooks, or safety and quality rules alone do not make a company a joint employer.
- If finalized, a joint‑employer finding could mean shared liability for wage violations, aggregated hours for overtime, changes to who must provide FMLA notices and benefits, and MSPA duties reaching to host firms, as business groups praise clarity and worker advocates warn of weaker enforcement and likely court challenges with state standards still varying.