Joint Employment Risks for Businesses: Regulatory and Litigation Developments, Mitigating Potential Liability

This CLE webinar will examine joint employment risks facing employers today. The panel will discuss applicable federal agency and circuit court tests and factors weighed when determining whether joint employment exists. The panel will also look at regulatory and litigation trends and offer best practices for helping clients mitigate the risk of joint employer liability.

A joint employment relationship exists when one employer is so related to another that employees of the second employer may also be deemed employees of the first and either employer may be responsible for the other's employment liabilities. Common examples of business relationships where joint employment is often a concern include franchisor/franchisee, staffing agency/employer clients, and general contractor/subcontractor. 

Understanding when a joint employment relationship may exist and how to mitigate risk of liability is a challenge for employers given that the NLRB and DOL have separate tests and have been the focus of rulemaking in recent years that has ultimately proven unsuccessful after legal challenges but has impacted employers nonetheless. Additionally, the EEOC has its own guidance, and the federal circuits interpret "joint employer" differently.

Therefore, it is imperative that counsel understand joint employment issues facing their employer clients, regulatory trends and applicable tests, and best practices for mitigating risk of joint employment liability including through skillful contractual drafting.

Listen as our expert panel provides an overview of joint employment risks facing employers, examines factors that are weighed by agencies and courts when determining whether joint employment exists, and offers guidance on limiting potential employer liability.