Jan. 6, 2022
Bloomberg Law
- Agreement involves Labor Department, federal labor board
- Effort targets cases involving misclassification, retaliation
The U.S. Department of Labor’s wage regulator and the National Labor Relations Board have struck an agreement to collaborate on investigations and share information on potential violations of law, specifically targeting independent contractor misclassification and retaliation against workers.
Their new memorandum of understanding, made public Thursday, will create a formal referral process for violations of federal labor and employment laws, making it easier for the government to pursue employers who have breached laws enforced by both agencies, Jessica Looman, acting administrator of the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division, said in an exclusive interview.
“This MOU allows us to have that formal referral process back and forth between the two agencies, so that we can help the worker get to the place where they need to be and have their rights enforced, as opposed to relying on the worker to have to try to navigate the government system on their own,” Looman said.
The agreement will take effect immediately at the WHD. Looman said the agency will review its current investigations for cases that may have potential overlap with the federal labor board.
The NLRB and the WHD will work together to create a system to share information in an effort to “maximize” and “improve” enforcement, according to the agreement, which was signed in early December.