{"id":543,"date":"2026-04-28T12:36:53","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:36:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/?p=543"},"modified":"2026-04-28T12:45:17","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T12:45:17","slug":"u-s-labor-department-moves-to-redefine-joint-employment-rules-what-businesses-should-know","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/u-s-labor-department-moves-to-redefine-joint-employment-rules-what-businesses-should-know\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Labor Department Moves to Redefine Joint Employment Rules: What Businesses Should Know"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>When a worker provides services to two separate companies at the same time, a critical legal question emerges: are both companies responsible for complying with federal labor laws? The answer can have major consequences, especially in cases involving overtime pay, wage obligations, and liability for violations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can also determine whether a second company is accountable for penalties if labor laws are broken\u2014for example, when a minor is assigned hazardous work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To address this uncertainty, the United States Department of Labor has introduced a proposed rule aimed at clarifying how joint employment should be defined and enforced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"450\" src=\"https:\/\/investingora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Design-sem-nome-55.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-547\" srcset=\"https:\/\/investingora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Design-sem-nome-55.png 800w, https:\/\/investingora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Design-sem-nome-55-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/investingora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Design-sem-nome-55-768x432.png 768w, https:\/\/investingora.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Design-sem-nome-55-18x10.png 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-cyan-bluish-gray-color\">Investingora.com \u2014 photo: Jacquelyn Martin\/Reuters<\/mark><\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd0d A New Proposal to Clarify Joint Employment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The proposed regulation, titled <em>Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act<\/em>, was officially published in the U.S. Federal Register on April 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Its main purpose is to remove confusion about when joint employment applies and to clearly define its scope within federal labor regulations. The proposal also seeks to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Strengthen compliance with labor laws<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Clearly outline employer and employee responsibilities<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simplify enforcement processes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduce costly legal disputes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promote consistency in court decisions<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\u2696\ufe0f What Joint Employment Means<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Joint employment occurs when two or more employers share legal responsibility for the same worker. This situation is particularly common in industries such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Staffing and workforce agencies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Franchise operations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Construction projects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Agricultural work<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>When joint employment exists, all involved employers are equally responsible for ensuring workers receive proper wages, benefits, and overtime compensation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83e\udde0 The Updated \u201cBonnette\u201d Standard<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A central element of the proposal is a revised version of the \u201cBonnette\u201d test, which is used to determine whether joint employment relationships exist\u2014especially in \u201cvertical\u201d scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Vertical joint employment typically arises when a worker is formally employed by one company but performs work that also benefits another business. This creates a key question: should that second company also be legally considered an employer?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To answer this, the updated test evaluates whether the potential joint employer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Has the power to hire or terminate the worker<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Exercises significant control over work schedules or job conditions<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Determines how and how much the worker is paid<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Maintains employment records<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>These criteria reflect common factors already used by courts when applying the Fair Labor Standards Act, helping create a more unified and predictable standard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\ude80 Expected Impact of the Proposal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>By consolidating these guidelines, the Department of Labor aims to create greater consistency for employers, workers, and regulators alike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The expected outcomes include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For businesses:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Clearer legal obligations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Lower risk of non-compliance<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reduced litigation costs<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>For workers:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Better protection of wages and rights<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Increased clarity in employment relationships<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The agency also expects that clearer rules will reduce the time and expense required to determine whether joint employment applies in specific cases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udce3 Public Comment Period<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This proposal marks the beginning of the rulemaking process. Stakeholders\u2014including employers, workers, and industry representatives\u2014are invited to submit feedback during a 60-day public comment period, which runs through June 22 via regulations.gov.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">\ud83d\udd11 Final Thoughts<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The effort to redefine joint employment reflects a broader push to modernize labor regulations and address complex working arrangements. Businesses that rely on shared labor models should closely monitor these developments to ensure compliance and minimize legal risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When a worker provides services to two separate companies at the same time, a critical legal question emerges: are both companies responsible for complying with federal labor laws? The answer can have major consequences, especially in cases involving overtime pay, wage obligations, and liability for violations. It can also determine whether a second company is [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,22,21,42,25,26,20,24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-543","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-companies","category-economy","category-finance","category-global-news","category-latest-news","category-markets","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=543"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":548,"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/543\/revisions\/548"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=543"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=543"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/investingora.com\/pt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=543"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}