Earlier this week, the US Department of Labor (DOL) sent its joint employer rule to the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for approval – the last step before publication in the Federal Register. The proposed rule for application of the joint employer standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) will make it more difficult for businesses to be defined as joint employers of their franchisees’ employees. The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is also expected to finalize a similar joint employer rule for application under the National Labor Relations Act by the end of this month as well. Finally, and again before the end of the year, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is also set to release its own joint employer proposal defining applicability under federal employment discrimination laws. On another subject, OMB this week also approved DOL changes to how employers calculate overtime pay for employees working more than 40 hours. The proposed rule would allow employers to exclude bonuses, travel expenses and incidental payments from an employee’s base rate.