Under the MSPA, an employer could be held responsible for an independent contractor's violations of the MSPA, if the employer is considered a "joint employer" of the contractor's workers. Therefore, the stakes are very high when evaluating whether or not you are a joint employer of a group of workers.

In this article, we review the circumstances in which on agricultural employer may be viewd ans the "joint employer" of certain workers and therefore liable to those workers violations of the MSPA. We will also highlight some steps that employers can and should take to avoid a finding of joint employer status.