creating a fissuring of the workplace. Workers in the fissured workplace often have lower pay and limited benefits, exacerbating income inequality. (8) As an interpretive regulation, this rule does not have the force of law, but will dictate how and if the Department will continue to hold employers accountable when they are jointly liable for FLSA violations. (9) The Labor Department’s flawed interpretive rule could increase wage theft and workplace fissuring by incentivizing employers to outsource work to labor intermediaries and subcontractors to avoid FLSA liability. Increased use of labor intermediaries or subcontractors that are prone to inadequate FLSA compliance would leave workers vulnerable to wage theft. If such entities are thinly capitalized, workers may be unable to recover any back pay owed. (10) According the Economic Policy Institute, increased wage theft and workplace fissuring under this interpretive rule could cost workers more than a billion dollars each year. 3. Prohibition on implementing or enforcing final rule on joint employer status Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of Labor may not implement or enforce the final rule on Joint Employer Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act published by the Department of Labor in the Federal Register on January 16, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 2820 et seq.).