Do you use temporary employees in your business? If you answered that question “yes” then you need to know that your company may be considered a “joint employer” of those employees.
If your company exercises the right to control the temporary employees your company and the company providing the temporary employees (“temp service”) are joint employers of the temporary employees.
Factors to consider in determining who has the right to control include:
1.who controls when the employees arrive and leave;
2. who controls what the employees do and how they do it;
3. whose policies and procedures govern the employees;
4. who provides the tools and equipment; and
5. who pays the employees and provides their benefits.
The most significant legal implication of being a joint employer is that temporary employees can pursue a claim against you and the “temp service” for any discrimination, harassment or retaliation they claim to experience while performing an assignment for your company. Furthermore, under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) if you have the right to control the temporary employees you use you will have to count them in determining whether you meet the ACA 50 employee threshold.
Temporary employees can provide a valuable service to your business. But if you use them know that the legal ramifications of doing so may be far more permanent.
Tennessee Employment Law 