Why truckers should care about DOL’s latest proposal on joint employers

The Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rule on joint employer status, released Thursday into the Federal Register, revives an effort hanging over from the first Trump administration to create a framework for when a worker can be seen as effectively having two employers.

Given the level of subcontracting that goes on in trucking, it’s a proposal that has the potential to become an issue when a driver-related issue becomes the subject of an enforcement action of DOL, such as by the Wage & Hour division.

The proposed rule looks at both vertical joint employer relationships–which would involve subcontracting, like what goes on in trucking–or a horizontal employer relationship. It is open for comment window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag.

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display('div-gpt-ad-1709668545404-0'); }); A horizontal employment relationship, according to the DOL’s post about the rule in the Federal Register, is one “where an employee works separate hours for two (or more) employers in the same workweek that are sufficiently associated with each other with respect to the employment of the employee.”

Soon after the notice was posted, the trucking-focused Scopelitis law firm put out an email message to its clients, noting the proposed rule’s structure and how it would impact trucking companies. Vertical vs.

horizontal; the former matters for trucking “For many clients, the proposed rule’s test for vertical joint employment—where, for example, a motor carrier contracts with a fleet contractor with employee drivers and the issue is whether the motor carrier is the joint employer of those drivers—is of most relevance,” the law firm said.

A Wage & Hour division rule on joint employer status at the Department of Labor was implemented in the first Trump administration. But it ultimately was tossed out by a court. And what happens if a company is found to be a joint employer with another that it thought it was just contracting with?

As the Shipman & Goodman law firm said in an online commentary, “Joint employer status carries real consequences. If two businesses are found to be joint employers under the Fair Labor Standards Act, they are jointly and severally liable for wages, overtime, damages, window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd.

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enableServices(); }); googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. display('div-gpt-ad-1665767553440-0'); }); and penalties owed to the employees.” Expanding on that, the Shipman firm said such a finding would mean that “an employee’s total hours worked each week for all joint employers must be aggregated to determine overtime eligibility.

Under the FMLA, both joint employers must count the employee for purposes of employer coverage and employee eligibility.” Four key points Scopelitis said the latest test of whether there is a vertical joint employer relationship has been modified somewhat from the first Trump rule.

But it it similar in that it calls for four factors to be considered by regulators seeking to determine the nature of the employers’ structure. (Other online commentary from various law firms noted, as did Scopelitis, that most of the proposed rule is identical to the blocked rule from the first Trump administration).

The four tests, Scopelitis said, look to see whether the potential joint employer: window. googletag = window. googletag || {cmd: []}; googletag. cmd. push(function() {googletag. defineSlot('/21776187881/fw-responsive-main_content-slot4', [[300, 100], [320, 50], [728, 90], [468, 60]], 'div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0'). defineSizeMapping(gptSizeMaps. banner1).

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display('div-gpt-ad-1709668086344-0'); }); Can hire or fire the employee in question ”Supervises and controls the employee’s work schedule or conditions of employment to a substantial degree.” “Determines the employee’s rate and method of payment.” “Maintains the employee’s employment records.”

None of the four are dispositive, viewed as carrying more weight than the others, the firm said. But they are more important than any other considerations that might come into play. “The proposal allows for wider co