A newly proposed federal regulation could flip the script for employers across the country that utilize independent contractors in day-to-day business. A proposed rule by the Department of Labor Wage and Hour Division was published on October 13, 2022. The proposal seeks revisions to the current legal analysis for determining whether a worker is an employee versus an independent contract under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA or Act). If enacted, employers may find themselves subject to increasing liability and litigation over employee misclassification. Employers will need to pay close attention to the developments of the proposed regulation as the impact could influence the very foundation of employment law with some labor experts opining it could spell bankruptcy for certain companies that rely heavily on currently classified independent contractors.
Fair Labor Standards Act
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or 29 U.S.C. 202(a) was enacted in 1938 to eliminate the existence of labor conditions detrimental to the minimum standards of health, efficiency, and general well-being of workers. The FLSA brought about core aspects of today’s labor industry like requiring employers to pay at least the federal minimum wage for full time employees and at least half for overtime work, record maintenance on employees, and prohibition on retaliation on employees for pay inquiries or complaints to the U.S. Department of Labor. Many states, however, have set minimum wage amounts...
US satirical publication The Onion has proposed a new plan to take over Infowars, the media company run by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. The Onion's proposal, which requires approval ...