Murray Opposes Department of Labor Proposal to Allow Corporations to Abdicate Their Responsibility to Workers

Murray submitted comment opposing Department of Labor’s “joint employer” proposal, which would allow corporations to shirk their responsibility to workers

Murray urged the Department to withdraw the proposal, citing the harm it would cause to workers and children

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, submitted a comment to the Department of Labor urging Secretary Acosta to withdraw the “joint employer” proposal. Under Secretary Acosta’s proposal, corporations would not be held responsible for violations of workers’ rights to the minimum wage, overtime pay, and other rights and protections at work. Murray stressed that the Department’s proposal would leave workers vulnerable to wage theft and children vulnerable to child labor violations, and would undermine Equal Pay Act claims.

“This proposal gives ‘low-road’ employers a roadmap to evading their legal responsibility to workers as joint employers,” wrote Senator Murray. “This would exacerbate what is already an epidemic of wage theft, encourage outsourcing to undercapitalized subcontractors, and impact vulnerable workers, including construction workers, service workers, and workers employed by staffing agencies.”

It has long been recognized that workers can have more than one employer, and that those employers are jointly responsible for complying with the Fair Standards Labor Act. In her comment letter, Murray argued that the Department of Labor’s proposal ignores Congressional intent and relies on flawed legal reasoning.

Read Senator Murray’s comment letter HERE.

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