The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) missed an opportunity to put the issue to bed once and for all this week when the court announced that it would not take up a case addressing whether DirecTV is a joint employer under the Fair Labor Standards Act. By rejecting the Petition for a Writ of Certiorari, the court left in place the decision of the Fourth Circuit Court in Hall v. DirecTV LLC that DirecTV is a joint employer of installation technicians employed through a number of its contractors and sub-contractors. Although the Browning-Ferris decision reversal is the rule for NLRB, the DirecTV decision still stands and will likely serve to further muddy the waters. That said, the effort in states to insulate franchises from any expansion of the joint employer definition continues as state legislatures return to session for 2018. We noted that Missouri state senator Robert Onder filed Senate 666 for the current session. The bill would specifically incorporate the “direct and immediate control” language in state law. We’ve also heard that similar legislation has been filed for consideration in Pennsylvania as well.