On May 6, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) issued a final rule, effective immediately, withdrawing a pro-business independent contractor rule that would have made it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors, rather than as employees who are entitled to minimum wage and overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Earlier
Gig Economy
Employer-Friendly Independent Contractor Test is on the Chopping Block
On March 2, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced that it is officially delaying the effective date of the rule titled “Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The effective date for the rule has now been delayed 60 days from March 8, 2021, to May 7, 2021.
As we …
DOL Withdraws 2019 FLSA Opinion Letters on Independent Contractors and Compensable Time for Truckers
On February 19, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) withdrew two FLSA opinion letters, further signaling a return to more employee-friendly policies.
The first, FLSA2019-6, addressed the status of independent contractors for an unnamed virtual marketplace company (VMC) and took a more expansive view of independent contractors than the WHD’s…
Lawmakers Reintroduce the PRO Act to Promote Union Organizing
On February 4, 2021, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) reintroduced federal legislation designed to significantly expand the rights of workers to unionize and enhance protections to employees whose efforts to do so are impeded by employers, or who are retaliated against for engaging in protected activity. The bill, known as…
DOL’s Approach to Independent Contractors under the FLSA in Flux Following Change in Administration
When someone should be treated as an independent contractor has huge implications for companies under a variety of state and federal laws that have their own standards. Unfortunately for employers, the DOL’s view of how the so-called economic reality test under tCathe FLSA should be interpreted is in flux, making compliance very challenging.
In 2016,…