Senator Murray: New Joint Employer Rule is a “Huge Blow to Workers’ Rights”

Labor Department finalizes joint employer rule, allowing corporations to avoid responsibility for workers’ rights violations

Murray: “Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the Trump Administration has once again advanced the interests of those at the very top at the expense of workers”

Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released the following statement on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) final joint employer rule, which will make it easier for corporations to skirt responsibility for violations of workers’ rights. DOL’s previous interpretation of the “joint employer” standard better protected workers by ensuring that corporations that contract out work could be held responsible when workers’ rights are violated under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The new rule more narrowly defines “joint employer,” allowing a corporation to evade liability for work it has contracted out and leaving workers vulnerable to wage theft, child labor abuse, and equal pay violations.  

“Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the Trump Administration has once again advanced the interests of those at the very top at the expense of workers,” said Senator Murray. “This new rule is a huge blow to workers’ rights. It will help the biggest corporations skirt their responsibilities in order to boost their profits, while leaving workers across the country vulnerable to wage theft and other violations of their rights.”

In June, Senator Murray wrote to DOL stating that this rule “ignores Congressional intent and relies on flawed legal reasoning.”

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