{"id":363364,"date":"2026-08-02T10:02:24","date_gmt":"2026-08-02T10:02:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/uncategorized\/why-does-the-concept-of-joint-employment-exist-there-are-good-reasons-who-is-my-employee\/"},"modified":"2026-08-02T10:02:24","modified_gmt":"2026-08-02T10:02:24","slug":"why-does-the-concept-of-joint-employment-exist-there-are-good-reasons-who-is-my-employee","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=363364","title":{"rendered":"Why Does the Concept of Joint Employment Exist? (There are Good Reasons!) \u2013 Who Is My Employee?"},"content":{"rendered":"


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At Michino-Eli Yamada, a diner in Japan, you can order oyster-infused<\/a> soft serve ice cream, topped with soy sauce.<\/p>\n

While that sounds like a truly awful blend of flavors (and a waste of perfectly good soft serve), the diner is getting plenty of press for its creativity.<\/p>\n

There seems to be some competition in Japan for ruining the soft serve experience. There\u2019s another restaurant offering a miso ramen bowl with a cone of soft serve floating in the bowl. Photo here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m a fan of adding rainbow sprinkles to my soft serve, but adding oysters or miso ramen is an unfair outcome.<\/p>\n

And that brings us to today\u2019s topic, about another seemingly unfair outcome. Let\u2019s talk about why the concept of joint employment exists. Because to a business accused of being a joint employer, joint employment often feels like an unfair outcome. <\/p>\n

Why should your business be responsible for payroll and overtime errors committed by a different employer, such as a staffing agency? Since you\u2019ve asked so politely, I\u2019ll tell you why.<\/p>\n

Suppose a staffing agency worker is due overtime pay but the staffing agency employer didn\u2019t pay it. Maybe it\u2019s a tiny staffing agency that lacks the funds. Maybe the primary employer would go bankrupt if hit with a wage and hour lawsuit. In that case, the worker is legally due overtime pay but will be out of luck.<\/p>\n

There are two possible results here: One is that the worker loses out on the overtime pay. The second is that a joint employer \u2014 the company that benefitted from that worker\u2019s labor \u2014 pays.<\/p>\n

Who is in a better position to incur the loss? Who is in a better position to prevent the loss? The answer to both questions is the business receiving the benefit of the services \u2014 the joint employer.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a policy decision that the business benefiting from the services should pay the missing overtime instead of the worker not receiving the money due.<\/p>\n

So what can a potential joint employer do about it? Fortunately, several things.<\/p>\n

First, select a reputable staffing agency, one that you are confident will pay its workers as the law requires. Tiny staffing firms might be cheaper, but the reason they might be cheaper is because they lack the infrastructure and sophistication to comply with legal requirements.<\/p>\n

Second, use a comprehensive staffing agency agreement. A good staffing agency agreement should include several components, including creating contractual obligations for the staffing agency to pay overtime and minimum wage and to comply with other aspects of the law. A good agreement will also include carefully-drafted indemnity provisions. <\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to see \u201cTen Things That Should Be in Your Staffing Agency Agreement But Probably Aren\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are good policy reason why the concept of joint employment exists. There are also lots of steps potential joint employers can take to limit their risk of liability. <\/p>\n

There are no good reasons, though, for oyster-flavored soft serve. I\u2019m not budging on that point.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2026 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.<\/em><\/p>\n

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