The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit has established a new "test" for determining if joint employers cited as liable in class-action suits are, indeed, employers.

The June 28 decision in In re: Enterprise Rent-A-Car establishes that Enterprise Holdings Inc. was not a joint employer because it did not pass "the Enterprise test" -- having authority to hire and fire; authority to promulgate work rules and assignments and set employees' work conditions; involvement in day-to-day employee supervision; and actual control of employee records, such as payroll or taxes.