Committee Democrats: Labor Department’s Joint Employer Rule Erodes Workers’ Most Basic Workplace Rights
WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Bobby Scott (VA-03), Chairman of the Committee on Education and Labor, Congressman Andy Levin (MI-09), Vice Chair of the Committee on Education and Labor, and Congresswoman Alma Adams (NC-12), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, issued the following statement after a New York federal judge invalidated most of the Department of Labor’s interpretative rule narrowing joint employment liability.
“This ruling quashes yet another Trump administration attempt to deny workers their basic rights.
“The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) has long ensured that workers can hold all their employers accountable for violating workplace rights and protections when the employee has multiple employers on which they are economically dependent. This standard has been essential to holding all employers accountable for basic labor standards, such as minimum wage, overtime, and child labor restrictions.
“The Department of Labor (DOL) has been churning out unlawful regulations that are meant to give employers more leeway to violate the law without consequence, which has turned DOL’s very mission to protect and enhance the nation’s workforce on its head. The federal court was correct in finding that the final rule contradicts the text of the FLSA, the DOL’s own prior interpretations, and Supreme Court precedent. It is also no surprise that the court found the rule to be arbitrary and capricious under the Administrative Procedures Act because, among other things, the DOL failed to consider the rule’s estimated $1 billion cost to workers annually.
“Today’s decision is a welcome course correction and will help ensure workers are protected by the labor standards enshrined in the law.”
###
Press Contact
Democratic Press Office, 202-226-0853
Next Article Previous Article