CHICAGO – Attorney General Kwame Raoul, as part of a coalition of 22 states, opposed a proposed joint employment rule by the U.S. Department of Labor that would weaken worker protections and make it harder to hold employers accountable for wage theft and other labor law violations.
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The proposed rule would narrow the standard for determining joint employment under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act. Joint employment means a worker may have more than one employer legally responsible for complying with worker protection laws. This occurs in many different workplaces, such as two restaurants with common management that share employees, or a general contractor that uses subcontractors and both control the work of employees.
“Workers deserve protections on the job no matter who they are working for,” Raoul said. “Joint employment is increasingly common. Without strong standards in place, bad actors can use this arrangement to skirt laws that protect employees and gain unfair advantage over law-abiding employers. I call on the U.S. Department of Labor not to weaken this important standard, and I remain committed to fighting for workers’ rights.”
Joint employment standards are especially important in today’s economy as more businesses use staffing agencies, subcontractors, labor brokers, franchise arrangements, third-party management companies or other layered employment models. When violations occur, a smaller intermediary employer may be unable to pay workers or may disappear entirely. A strong joint employment standard helps ensure workers can recover unpaid wages from the businesses that benefited from their work and had control over the conditions of employment.
In their comment letter, the coalition argues that the proposed rule does not reflect the reality of modern workplaces where workers may be directed, monitored, scheduled, or evaluated by more than one business. The proposed rule would have an especially harmful impact on workers in low-wage and high-violation industries, including agricultural workers and people working in construction, where labor brokers, staffing agencies and subcontractors are often used to meet workforce demands.
The coalition urges the U.S. Department of Labor to withdraw the proposal, warning that it would make it harder for workers to recover unpaid wages. The coalition also argues that the proposed rule would revive a modified version of a 2020 standard that was struck down by a federal court and create confusion for employers and enforcement agencies due to conflicts with federal case law.
Raoul is joined in submitting the comments by the attorneys general of Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin, as well as the state labor departments of Illinois, Maine, Minnesota, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington.
