NPRM ON CLASSIFYING EMPLOYEES AND INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS

Source: U.S. Department of Labor

October 13, 2022

The U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to help employers and workers determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The proposed rule is intended to provide guidance on classifying workers and seeks to combat employee misclassification.

The NPRM proposes a framework more consistent with longstanding judicial precedent on which employers have relied to classify workers as employees or independent contractors under the FLSA. Specifically, the proposed rule would do the following:

  • Align the DOL’s approach with courts’ FLSA interpretation and the economic reality test.
  • Restore the multifactor, totality-of-the-circumstances analysis to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the FLSA. 
  • Ensure that all factors are analyzed without assigning a predetermined weight to a particular factor or set of factors.
  • Revert to the longstanding interpretation of the economic reality factors. These factors include the investment, control and opportunity for profit or loss factors. The integral factor, which considers whether the work is integral to the employer’s business, is also included.
  • Assist with the proper classification of employees and independent contractors.
  • Rescind the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule.

In its announcement concerning the NPRM, the DOL noted that “[m]isclassification is a serious issue that denies workers’ rights and protections under federal labor standards, promotes wage theft, allows certain employers to gain an unfair advantage over law-abiding businesses, and hurts the economy at-large.” Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh went on to say:

“While independent contractors have an important role in our economy, we have seen in many cases that employers misclassify their employees as independent contractors, particularly among our nation’s most vulnerable workers…. Misclassification deprives workers of their federal labor protections, including their right to be paid their full, legally earned wages. The Department of Labor remains committed to addressing the issue of misclassification.”

Before publication of today’s proposed rulemaking, the DOL’s Wage and Hour Division considered feedback shared by stakeholders in forums during the summer of 2022 and will now solicit comments on the proposed rule from interested parties. Comments, which must be submitted from Oct. 13 to Nov. 28, 2022, should be submitted online or in writing to the Division of Regulations, Legislation and Interpretation, Wage and Hour Division, U.S. Department of Labor, Room S-3502, 200 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20210.