Notwithstanding the above and possible re-opening of the issue, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has released the final version of the long-awaited joint employer rule. The final rule now employs a four-part test to determine joint employer status that includes whether a franchise: 1) maintains power to hire and fire; 2) supervise schedules and ‘conditions of employment’; 3) to set pay; and 4) to keep employment records. Wage and Hour Division Administrator Cheryl Stanton explained that under application of the new rule in the context of the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act, franchisors will not be considered joint employers because they oversee another employer’s quality control standards, health and safety requirement or compliance with wage and hour laws – essentially, a franchisor is not a joint employer simply because they are a franchisor. The NLRB and EEOC still must finalize their own rules as to application of joint employer under the National Labor Relations and Equal Employment Opportunity Acts respectively.