On January 9, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor announced its final rule addressing contractor versus independent contractor status under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Currently, the rule is effective March 11, 2024. There will undoubtedly be legal challenges which could force the rule to be paused (i.e., enjoined).
Note: How time flies. We first reported on this issue back in October 2022 when the DOL released its proposed rule. In that post, we discussed some of the (we think interesting) historical underpinnings and context surrounding these issues. See article here.
Back to the DOL’s final rule. It is important to note that it applies only to the FLSA. That is, for determining whether a worker is entitled to the protection under the wage and hour laws. Be aware there are other tests and rules to determine independent contactor status depending on the context. For example, the federal Internal Revenue Service has its own rules and regulations for determining the applicability of employee payroll tax withholdings. Therefore, when determining independent contractor status overall, it is not just about applying one set of rules.
The DOL describes the new rule as “a totality-of-the-circumstances economic reality test” where “no single factor or group of factors is assigned any predetermined weight.” The primary focus of the analysis is whether the worker is economically dependent on the person or business that is providing the work.
The final rule adopts...
A front-page article with the byline of veteran New York Times opinion writer Nicholas Kristof is the latest poisonous example of what I call the NGO “halo effect.” Headlined “The Silence That Mee...