March 16, 2026
U.S. DOL Sends Joint Employer Rule to OMB
In February, the National Labor Relations Board published its final Joint Employer rule. Today, the U.S. Department of Labor followed suit.
On March 16th, the Office of Management and Budget received the DOL’s Joint Employer Rule. This is not unexpected. In fact, it may be later than expected. Last Fall the DOL published notice in its Spring Regulatory Agenda suggesting a new rule might be published by December 2025.
In September, the DOL issued an opinion letter reminding employers, “even if two or more entities are considered separate employers, they can nonetheless be ‘joint employers’ under the FLSA if they have related employment relationships with the same employee(s).”
So what? There are practical applications under the FLSA, FMLA, and more. Click here for some practical examples.
Stay tuned for the final rule to be published. For consistency, let’s hope it is similar to the NLRB’s rule, which is more employer friendly than the preceding rule.
Speaking of rules, join the FREE webcast on April 15th, “U.S. DOL’s Proposed Independent Contractor Rule: What Questions They’re Asking” pre-approved by SHRM for 1.0 credit and by HRCI for 1.0 BUSINESS credit!
