New Labor Dept. rule clarifies 'joint employer' standard

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department issued a final rule Sunday that clarifies when a worker is employed by more than one company, an issue that affects franchise businesses such as McDonald’s and firms that have outsourced services such as cleaning and maintenance.

The rule, first proposed last spring, replaces an Obama administration policy that potentially made more businesses liable for failures by franchisees or contractors to pay overtime or minimum wages.

The issue has taken on greater importance in recent years as more Americans work for temp firms, contractors and franchises. By some estimates, roughly 14 million Americans are in such “alternative work arrangements.”

The new rule, which will take effect March 16, provides a four-part test to determine whether a company is a “joint employer.” The tests are: Whether or not it can hire or fire the employee; whether it supervises the employee’s work schedule; whether it sets their pay; and if it maintains their employment records.

Read more: https://apnews.com/dc8da4c4b062a61db970f40036b0ea45

[progree]

1. And not surprisingly the corporados and other greedbangers like the new rules

The International Franchise Association, whose members include the Subway sandwich chain and Jani-King, a cleaning franchisor, welcomed the new rule for clarifying the question of joint employment. The group argues that the Obama administration’s policy, implemented in 2015, resulted in a large increase in lawsuits against franchise chains.

The Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor group, has argued that the new rule “dramatically narrows” the likelihood that a company can be considered liable for overtime or minimum wage violations. It provides an incentive for companies to outsource more jobs and avoid that responsibility, the EPI said.

[KPN]

2. All any of them have to do is outsource the hiring to get around this.

Just more of what they’ve already been doing to reduce wages/benefits and their costs for labor.

[riversedge]

3. damn. More hits by Trump on the workers in the USA--these are lower wage workers to start with!

[turbinetree]

4. Yepper... let him create modern sweat shops................that's what this amounts too............

the country know will have test a four part test....................for employment status, determined by a employer, the labor department has rule in the books that determines if someone is skilled or unskilled which is kinda important.................hell this is one way to get around OSHA, if someone gets hurt on the job.....................what part of four where they if they were employed .........................

Time to go to court...........................


November 3, 2020 cannot get here fast enough

[Captain Zero]

5. If you have the time, Could you clarify this post some?

could you edit with the four points you are making in:
1.
2.
3.
4.

I have difficulty following what you wrote above.
Thanks.

[turbinetree]

6. Labor Department standards for skilled and unskilled.........

which is big deal for pay and wages, health care and such, hours working over 40 hours for time and half pay....................

https://www.ssa.gov/OP_Home/cfr20/404/404-1568.htm

OSHA

https://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_id=9630&p_table=STANDARDS


OSHA 300 and 300A logs ( safety logs of accident's)

https://www.osha.gov/recordkeeping/RKforms.html

Wages and skills

https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2017/article/wage-and-job-skill-distributions-in-the-national-compensation-survey.htm

Everything he does, he muddies the water and his cronies are sitting there just adding more mud to the water without any protections for the rules................he is in my opinion trying to make every employee exempt, which is big deal..................

Overtime rules

Overtime Pay. The federal overtime provisions are contained in the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Unless exempt, employees covered by the Act must receive overtime pay for hours worked over 40 in a workweek at a rate not less than time and one-half their regular rates of pay. ... The Act applies on a workweek basis.

https://www.dol.gov/general/topic/workhours/overtime