On June 22, ASHA joined the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace (CDW) and other employer organizations in submitting comments on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed joint employer rule. The coalition urged the Department to finalize the rule, with minor modifications to improve predictability and stability in its application.

As previously reported, the proposal would narrow and clarify when two businesses are considered jointly responsible for workers under federal labor laws enforced by the DOL, including wage and hour and leave requirements. The rule would largely restore the standard established in 2020 during the first Trump Administration.

Under the proposal, a business would be deemed a joint employer only if it directly exercises meaningful control over another company’s employees. The rule outlines a four-factor test that considers whether the business:

• Hires or fires the employee;
• Substantially supervises or controls the employee’s work schedule or conditions of employment;
• Determines the employee’s rate and method of pay; and/or
• Maintains the employee’s employment records.

Importantly, the proposal clarifies that common business practices, on their own, do not establish joint employer liability. These include operating franchise or brand models; requiring compliance with health or safety standards; providing sample employee handbooks; participating in association benefit plans or joint training programs; and enforcing quality control measures.

If finalized, the rule would provide senior living employers with greater certainty when working with staffing agencies, management firms, vendors, and other third-party partners, while limiting joint employer determinations to situations involving direct and substantial control over workers.

Click here to view the comments.