Joint Employment Risks for Businesses: Regulatory and Litigation Developments, Mitigating Potential Liability
Federal Agency and Circuit Factors to be Weighed; Contractual Drafting Considerations and Other Best Practices for Limiting Risk
Course Details
- smart_display Format
Live Online with Live Q&A
- signal_cellular_alt Difficulty Level
Intermediate
- work Practice Area
Employment and Workers Comp
- event Date
Wednesday, November 19, 2025
- schedule Time
1:00 p.m. ET./10:00 a.m. PT
- timer Program Length
90 minutes
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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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.
Mr. Feldman has extensive experience counseling and, where necessary, defending employers before federal and state courts and administrative agencies at the federal, state, and local levels. His clients include companies and corporations in the hospitality, financial services, entertainment, fashion, retail, medical, and publishing industries. Mr. Feldman maintains direct and continuous contact with clients through counseling, client alerts, webinars, onsite training, and internal audits. Throughout his career, Mr. Feldman has been active in the labor and employment law fields, serving as Chair of the Wage & Hour Practice Group at Moses & Singer LLP where he designed and implemented client-specific policies, procedures, and training programs to facilitate compliance with federal, state, and local employment laws and regulations and also previously served as Managing Attorney for the New York City Commission on Human Rights. Mr. Feldman is a frequent lecturer and author of numerous articles on wage and hour and equal opportunity laws and regulations and other employment law issues.
With nearly two decades of experience in labor and employment law, Ms. Thaler guides clients through the complexities of federal and state laws, including the FLSA, FMLA, ADA, Title VII, and the WARN Act. She works with employers in sectors such as education, software, technology, manufacturing, staffing, and hospitality to navigate workplace challenges and build practical solutions that align with their business goals. Ms. Thaler’s practice includes advising on policies and procedures that govern the employee lifecycle—from hiring and onboarding to discipline, leaves of absence, and separation. She drafts employment-related agreements, including noncompetes, nonsolicits, confidentiality agreements, and executive employment contracts. When disputes arise, Ms. Thaler represents clients in litigation and before state and federal agencies, coordinating strategy and managing investigations involving claims of discrimination, harassment, unprofessional conduct, and wage and hour violations. She frequently presents on evolving workplace laws and trends, helping employers stay informed and prepared in a rapidly changing regulatory environment.
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.
I. Introduction
A. What is joint employer liability?
B. Types of joint employment: horizontal and vertical
C. Business relationships often impacted by joint employment liability
II. Federal joint employer tests/guidance
A. DOL
B. NLRB
C. EEOC
D. Circuit tests
E. State and local law interaction
III. Joint employment issues
A. Wage and hour violations
B. Employment discrimination and harassment
C. Unfair labor practices
D. Safety concerns
E. Potential penalties
IV. Recent regulatory history and litigation trends
V. Best practices for mitigating the risk of joint employment liability
A. Contractual drafting
The panel will review these and other important issues:
- What business relationships are more prone to joint employment issues?
- What areas of employment are particularly problematic and present potential joint employer liability issues for businesses?
- What factors in the various federal tests and guidance are similar in determining whether businesses are joint employers? How do they differ?
- What are best practices for employers to mitigate their risk of joint employment liability?
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