Compliance Stuff

The US Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division recently announced a proposed rule that would establish a standard for determining joint-employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) . The proposed rule seeks to harmonize the joint-employment framework by i mplementing a uniform standard across these three federal statutes. Notably, the 60-day comment period ended on June 22, 2026 . In Depth Under the FLSA, joint employers are “jointly and severally liable” for compliance with the statute’s requirements, including overtime pay . The proposed rule distinguishes between vertical and horizontal business relationships, establishing a separate standard for determining joint-employer status for each scenario . Vertical joint employment exists when an employee is “jointly employed by two or more employers that simultaneously benefit from the employee’s work” ...

Without fail, each new year brings regulatory shifts and plaintiffs’-bar activity that push data, privacy, and cybersecurity in unexpected directions. As we look ahead to 2026, our  Data, Privacy, and Cybersecurity Group  is monitoring the following key trends and developments. These are issues we anticipate will demand significant client attention in the year ahead. In Depth The feds (and states) up the heat on kid privacy Earlier this year, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)  finalized its revised  Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) regulations. Those regulations required COPPA-regulated companies to provide greater transparency, introduced new data-sharing limitations, and enhanced security requirements, signaling a shift toward tighter control over how children’s data flows through digital ecosystems. But that’s not where the focus on children’s privacy stopped – states are filling gaps that COPPA leaves open, especially for teens. Across the countr...