The U.S. Labor Department has drafted a regulation governing the status of workers as independent contractors (ICs) or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and that new rule is reportedly undergoing White House review. A notice of proposed rulemaking should be issued soon. Will the proposed regulation have any legal significance, or can you disregard it? Businesses, worker organizations, and commentators have gotten dizzy over the past ten years by the back-and-forth changes to federal regulations regarding the FLSA’s test for IC status. The Obama administration guidelines were overwritten by the first Trump administration’s regulations, which were then overwritten by the Biden administration’s regulations, which are likely to be overridden soon by the upcoming proposed regulations by the second Trump administration.
Independent Contractor Misclassification
Courts Unlikely to Accept a New NLRB Independent Contractor Test
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board issued an Order inviting the public to file briefs in a case involving the independent contractor status of workers providing makeup and hairstyle services to the Atlanta Opera. This highly unusual move by the NLRB was issued in connection with an organizing…