June 13, 2017

DOL Rescinds Obama-era Guidance on Joint Employment, Independent Contractors

On June 7, 2017, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced its withdrawal of two administrative interpretations issued by the DOL in 2015 and 2016 relating to misclassification of joint employment and independent contractors. These two administrative statements issued by the Wage and Hour Division during the Obama administration expanded DOL’s interpretation of the definitions of “employ,” “employer,” and “employee,” arguably expanding the breadth of joint employer liability under the Fair Labor Standards Act. While the DOL emphasized in the press release that the withdrawal “does not change the legal responsibilities of employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” this is nevertheless welcome news for employers.

The withdrawal likely signals that we can expect to see the Trump administration proceed to dismantle other controversial Obama-era policies issued by the DOL.

For more information, please contact Jason Resnick at (949) 885-2253.