Compliance Stuff

On February 26, 2026, the National Labor Relations Board  formally reinstated  its 2020 joint-employer standard. This action officially withdraws a Biden-era 2023 rule and restores a narrower framework for determining when two businesses share legal responsibility for the same group of workers. By returning to the 2020 standard, the Board is aiming to settle period of legal uncertainty that has loomed over the business community for years. Closing the Regulatory Gap The Board’s action traces back to a legal defeat. In 2020, the Board adopted a rule setting out its joint-employment standard. Among other things, that standard found joint employment only when two businesses exercised direct and substantial control over the same worker. The Board retreated from that position in 2023, adopting a new rule that allowed j oint employment based only on “indirect” or “reserved” control. But in March 2024, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas struck down the 2023 ru...

Takeaways The Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division released three new FLSA opinion letters on 09.30.25, the first issued by the second Trump Administration. The opinion letters address which restaurant employees can participate in a tip pool, whether firefighters’ emergency pay must be factored into their regular rate of pay, and whether two physically connected entities with shared operations are joint employers under the FLSA. Although the opinion letters do not break new ground, they provide useful examples of how the government interprets important provisions of the FLSA. Related links Tip pool opinion letter:  FLSA2025-03 Firefighters’ emergency pay opinion letter:  FLSA2025-04 Joint employer opinion letter:  FLSA2025-05 DOL Opinion Letters page   Article The U.S. Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division issued three new opinion letters interpreting the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) on Sept. 30, 2025. The letters are the first of the new administration...