[World Labour Law News] U.S. Proposes Unified Joint Employer Test Across FLSA | FMLA

Editorial Team – [2026] 185 taxmann.com 848 (Article)

World Labour Law News provides a weekly snapshot of Labour law developments from around the globe. Here’s a glimpse of the key Labour law update this week.

1. Labour Law

1.1 U.S. Proposes Unified Joint Employer Test Across FLSA, FMLA, MSPA with Clear Vertical and Horizontal Standards

On April 22, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to revise its analysis for assessing joint employer status under three federal wage and hour laws. Specifically, the NPRM proposes to:

(1) to implement regulatory guidance for determining joint employer status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) at 29 CFR part 791; and

(2) amend provisions in existing regulations implementing the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA) so that the proposed FLSA analysis would be used to determine joint employer status under those laws too.

In particular, the NPRM’s proposed analysis would:

Set forth distinct standards for determining joint employer status in “vertical” and “horizontal” scenarios—a distinction that courts and the Department have long drawn.
Advise that horizontal joint employment exists when separate employers are sufficiently associated with respect to the employment of the same employee, but that business relationships which have little to do with the employment of specific employees—such as sharing a vendor or being franchisees of the same franchisor—are alone insufficient to establish joint employment.
Adopt a four-factor analysis for use in every case of potential vertical joint employment, examining whether the potential joint employer:

1. hires or fires the employee;
2. supervises and controls the employee’s work schedule or conditions of employment to a substantial degree;
3. determines the employee’s rate and method of payment; and
4. maintains the employee’s employment records.

Explain that additional factors may be relevant in assessing vertical joint employment, but that a unanimous finding on the four factors in either direction would establish a “substantial likelihood” regarding whether an individual or entity is a joint employer with another.

Source – Notice

1.2 The Government of Canada Invests in Programs that have a Proven Track Record of Delivering Positive Employment Outcomes for Young People

On April 13, 2026, On April 13, 2026, the Government of Canada highlighted expanded youth employment and skills programs, including student aid, work placements and apprenticeship support.

Backgrounder

1. Managing the cost of studying and training:

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Program

The Canada Student Financial Assistance Program (CSFA Program) provides Canada Student Grants and Loans to help students pay for their post-secondary education. It also offers repayment assistance to borrowers with financial difficulty.

Through the CSFA Program, the Government of Canada funds about 60% of a full-time student’s financial need. The province or territory covers the remaining 40%.

The Program works in partnership with provinces and territories to deliver student aid. Funding is available to full- and part-time students that:

are from low- and middle-income families
have dependants
have disabilities

Apprentices can also get help through Canada apprentice loans and apprenticeship grants.

To help students manage costs, ESDC extended temporary increases to Canada Student Grants and Loans for the 2026-27 school year. Approximately 571,000 Canadian students are expected to benefit from the 40% increase to non-repayable grants and 422,000 students could benefit from the weekly loan limit increase. Additionally, the Canada Student Loan Forgiveness benefit is now available for family doctors, nurses, early childhood educators, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists, midwives, teachers, social workers, personal support workers, physiotherapists, and psychologists in over 200 new rural and remote communities.

Source – News