DOL Proposed Rule: Employee or Independent Contractor Classification

On October 11, 2022, the US Department of Labor (DOL) announced the publication of a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM), Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act in the Federal Register. The proposed rule is scheduled to be officially published in the Federal Register on October 13th and the public will have 45 days to submit written comments.

The proposed rule does not use the limited “core factors” test as applied by the 2021 Independent Contractor (IC) rule. Instead, the DOL seeks to return to a totality-of-the-circumstances analysis of the economic reality test. The analysis would not assign a predetermined weight to economic reality factors, and each factor would be given full consideration. The proposed rule returns to long-established DOL precedent and circuit case law. The proposed rule also officially rescinds the DOL’s 2021 IC final regulation.

Click here to read the proposed rule in its entirety: Proposed Rule

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