VIA Federal eRulemaking Portal
Amy DeBisschop
Division of Regulations, Legislation, and Interpretation
Wage and Hour Division
U.S. Department of Labor
Room S-3502
200 Constitution Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20210
RE: National Employment Lawyers Association Amended Comments On Notice Of Proposed Rulemaking Regarding Joint Employer Status Under The Fair Labor Standards Act RIN 1235-AA26
Dear Ms. DeBisschop:The National Employment Lawyers Association (“NELA”) is submitting these comments regarding the U.S. Department of Labor (“Department”)’s proposed rulemaking regarding joint employer status (“Proposed Rules” or “Interpretive Bulletin”) under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “Act”). As written, the Proposed Rules are contrary to the language in the FLSA, conflict with United States Supreme Court precedent interpreting the FLSA, and describe as irrelevant, the factors circuit and district courts reasonably find instructive in the joint employer analysis. The Proposed Rules would have several adverse effects, including, but not limited to, encouraging employers to outsource responsibility for wage and hour compliance to labor brokers and staffing agencies, creating an uneven playing field for those employers that treat their workers as employees, fostering unsafe workplaces, and creating an inability for workers and the Department to collect earned wages from an entity that can afford