On August 16, 2016, Jordan B. Schwartz, Eric J. Conn, and Lindsay A. Smith, of Conn Maciel Carey’s national Labor and Employment Practice and OSHA Practice, presented a webinar regarding Joint Employer, Multi-Employer, Contractor and Temp Employment Law and OSHA issues.

Employers’ perceptions about their legal responsibilities for certain workers is not always reality.  Although an employer may classify a worker as a temporary worker or independent contractor, that does not mean the Department of Labor takes the same view.  Recently, DOL has been vocal about its belief that most workers should be treated as employees, insinuating that in a majority of cases, it would hold employers accountable for the specific obligations of an employer-employee relationship.  Additionally, employers may have certain employment law and OSHA related obligations and potential liability depending on their role at multi-employer worksites or in joint employer situations.

Overall, DOL has been cracking down on employee misclassification and division of responsibility among multiple employers; thus, it is essential for employers to carefully evaluate the employment relationship and their own individual function at in the multi-employer context.

Participants in the webinar learned:

• Criteria used to evaluate the employer-employee relationship
• Employers’ roles on multi-employer worksites and obligations associated with those roles
• Guidance on how to clearly establish an independent contractor relationship
• How to lawfully and effectively manage temporary workers at your workplace