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Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals Deals Significant Blow To Traditional Contractor-Subcontractor Relationship

  By Arty Bolick and John Ormand

On January 25, 2017, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals[1], dealt a significant blow to the traditional contractor-subcontractor relationship.  In finding a contractor and subcontractor could be considered “joint employers” of the subcontractor’s workers for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), the court’s decision has opened a pandora’s box of potential wage and hour issues, including claims for overtime pay against contractors and higher tier subcontractors from the employees of lower tier subcontractors. Read more