Construction Law Blog

On February 22, 2024, a federal judge in Texas issued a ruling delaying the implementation of the National Labor Relations Board’s new rule on joint employers. The rule—which will now be effective March 11, 2024—expands the current standard for determining joint-employer status. This expansion means that more employers will likely be subject to responsibilities and liabilities associated with workers who were not previously considered their employees.

On November 4, 2021, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) released its highly anticipated emergency temporary standard (ETS) which requires large employers to implement certain vaccination or testing policies and other measures to protect employees from the spread of COVID-19. OSHA contemporaneously issued helpful FAQs.    

In an article published May 28 in Construction Executive, Jaime Wisegarver details guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) related to the compensability of travel time for non-exempt employees. While the question of whether businesses are required to pay employees for travel time continues to plague employers, the DOL opinion letter addresses the issue for non-exempt foremen and laborers in three scenarios.

The General Assembly significantly changed the law in 2020 when it imposed potential liability on general contractors for the improper employment practices of their subcontractors. The General Assembly recently modified this law again to provide an express defense to joint liability.

On January 12, 2020, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced a final rule to revise—and narrow—the definition of “joint employer” under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Whether or not a company is a joint employer is a question that contractors who use staffing agencies, franchise businesses, and firms that outsource services should be asking themselves. In recent years, a growing number of Americans have found themselves in these types of work arrangements. A contractor or franchisor who is determined to be a joint employer can end up on the hook for wages that were ...