The NWLC joined the ACLU, Economic Policy Institute, National Partnership for Women and Families, and WorkLife Law, and many others on a coalition comment in opposition to the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed rulemaking (Proposed Rule) on the joint employment standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA), and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA), which was published in the Federal Register on April 23, 2026. The Proposed Rule improperly narrows the standard for determining joint employment, undermining the broad coverage Congress intended under the FLSA, FMLA, and MSPA. Narrowing the joint employment standard at a moment when workplace fissuring is increasingly common will severely limit workers’ access to vital statutory rights, including minimum wage, overtime pay, job-protected leave, and access to breaks and private space for pumping breast milk. Although the Proposed Rule will harm a broad spectrum of workers, it will have a disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable women workers, who tend to predominate in low-paying jobs that are endemic to the fissured workplace.

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