WASHINGTON – Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) and Workforce Protections Subcommittee Chairman Kevin Kiley (R-CA) sent a letter to Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su requesting her commitment not to issue a joint employer proposed rule under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) for the rest of her tenure at the Department of Labor (DOL). The letter comes after Su failed to guarantee that DOL would not pursue such a rulemaking.
In the letter, Foxx and Kiley write:“On June 7, 2023, you appeared before the Committee at a hearing on the policies and priorities of DOL. During this hearing, Republican members of the Committee inquired three times about DOL’s plans for a new joint employer standard under the FLSA… Throughout the hearing you repeatedly said a new joint employer standard was not on DOL’s agenda. However, you did not commit that DOL would not engage in rulemaking on joint employers. Your failure to provide a commitment was noted, even when Committee members pressed you for an answer.”
The lawmakers continue:“This letter serves as a ‘checkup’ and provides an opportunity for you to clarify DOL’s position on issuing a joint employer proposed rule. Given your failure to provide a concrete response at the hearing and given the NLRB’s recent rulemaking on determining joint employer status, we want to ensure that a joint employer rulemaking will not be on the regulatory agenda for the remainder of your tenure leading DOL.”
The lawmakers conclude by requesting answers to several questions:
Will you commit that DOL will not issue a joint employer proposed rule for the rest of your tenure leading DOL?
Is DOL preparing to include notice of a joint employer proposed rule in the Fall 2023 Regulatory Agenda? If so, provide all documents, materials, and communications between DOL and the Office of Management and Budget pertaining to such an addition to the Regulatory Agenda.
Have any DOL personnel—including, but not limited to, yourself, Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman, or Assistant Secretary for Policy Rajesh Nayak—communicated with any stakeholders or engaged in outreach on a potential joint employer rule? If so, provide all documents, materials, and communications related to any stakeholder outreach on issuing a joint employer rule.
If DOL has not engaged in any stakeholder communications or outreach regarding a potential proposed joint employer rule, has DOL scheduled or prepared to engage stakeholders? If so, provide all documents, materials, and communications related to any preparations for stakeholder outreach on issuing a joint employer rule.
Have any DOL personnel—including, but not limited to, yourself, Wage and Hour Division Administrator Jessica Looman, or Assistant Secretary for Policy Rajesh Nayak—engaged with the White House on a potential joint employer rule? If so, provide all documents, materials, and communications related to these engagements.
