The 5 Laws that Cause Contingent Worker Challenges

Cooper chairs the labor and employment practice group at law firm Garvey Schubert Barer in Portland, Oregon. Her tips came at a recent BLR-sponsored webinar.

Here’s Cooper’s quick rundown of the five legal arenas where you may be exposed to “joint employer” liabilities with contingent workers:

1. Wage and hour laws. While the temp agency is usually held responsible for wage and hour issues, FLSA imposes joint obligations if the employee works for two employers in one week.

2. Employment taxes. The agency is responsible for deducting taxes from employees’ pay. Companies that fail to withhold from contingent workers who are actually employees may encounter problems with the Internal Revenue Service. If the agency or leasing company doesn’t deduct, the feds will say you’re responsible, says Cooper.

3. FMLA. The FMLA specifically applies to temporary or leased employees, stating that joint employment will typically exist in those relationships. Employees in joint employment relationships must be counted by both entities for purposes of coverage under the FMLA. Generally, however, temporary agencies and leasing firms will be regarded as the primary employers and are responsible for notifying the employee, providing leave, maintaining health benefits during leave, and restoring employment following the leave.

However, there may be situations in which the FMLA doesn’t cover the temp agency but does cover your company. Sort this out ahead of time.

4. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Both the agency and user-employer are required to reasonably accommodate a worker with a disability. The interactive process gets complicated—both joint employers need to be able to show that they engaged in the interactive process. What if one says yes and the other says undue hardship? You say, take the employee back then if you can make the accommodation. Guess what? You’ve just bought yourself a discrimination suit.

Operate in multiple states? That’s a real compliance challenge, but with 50×50 (50 Employment Laws in 50 States); answers are at your fingertips. Wage/hour? Leave? Child labor? Discrimination? All there in easy-to-read chart form. Get more details.

5. Workers’ compensation. Whether a contingent worker will be considered an employee for workers’ compensation purposes, and is, therefore, eligible for workers’ compensation, depends on state law. In a very general sense, the agency is usually the primary employer of a contingent worker and pays for and receives the benefits of workers’ compensation.

However, the user-employer may also be immune from civil lawsuits resulting from accidents, and thus the employee’s remedy may be limited to workers’ compensation.

Many workers’ compensation insurance policies have an “alternate employer” endorsement that provides coverage for contingent workers, among others. Employers who make sure they are added to the agency’s policy will avoid lawsuits from leased or temporary employees injured on the job.

When an employee gets hurt in another state, it’s easy to “step in it,” Cooper says. If you have workers in multiple states, make sure you have the workers’ comp thing worked out.

Workers’ comp in multiple states, a pain for sure, but  hardly the only state law issue you’re facing. Where are you going to go to find out about all your state law obligations?

The 50×50 quick-reference quide, authorized by the nationwide Employers Counsel Network (ECN), puts crucial state law information right at your fingertips. Comprised of top-level law firms in all 50 states – plus Washington D.C. and Canada – the ECN advises and represents employers regarding workplace issues and disputes. Now you can quickly discover your legal obligations under the 50 most important employment laws … in each of the 50 states.

50 Employment Laws in 50 States, 2012 Edition is the revolutionary guidebook that puts ALL the most need-to-know employment law information—for each of the 50 states—right at your fingertips.

Imagine the time and frustration you’ll save with this authoritative, instant-information reference. In just seconds, you’ll zero in on the precise information you need whenever you must:

• Understand the employment laws in more than 1 state
• Audit your procedures
• Support recommendations to senior management
• Advise colleagues at field offices, branches, and stores
• Stay comfortably up-to-date with increasingly complicated state employment laws

Finally, an easy-to-use state law guide for all 50 states plus DC and Canada! 50×50 (50 Employment Laws in 50 States) guide is the authoritative guide to 50 of the most crucial employment laws. Easy-to-read chart format. No legalese. Just updated for 2012. Get more information here.

With 50 Employment Laws in 50 States, 2012 Edition, you get the exact guidance you need whenever you need to understand any state laws. Here are just some fo the state laws covered in 50×50.

To make sure your 50 Employment Laws in 50 States remains up to date, we closely monitor changes in employment law in all 50 states. Each year we’ll rush you a replacement edition on a 30-day-review basis, and bill you at the then-current rate. You pay only if you decide to keep the update.

50 Employment Laws in 50 States has recently been revised and expanded. You can also find Canadian employment laws in 50×50.

Get fast answers with this chart-based, 50-state reference guide. Includes citiations – regulations, statutes, and court cases so you can easily find the source documents if you need to.

Order or get more information.