Since President Donald Trump took back the White House just over a year ago, the Department of Labor has followed his leadership with a singular vision: putting American workers first in everything we do.
As a small business owner who has traveled the country on my 50-state listening tour, I can confidently say that our nation’s workforce is the envy of the world, and workers are thriving under the return of America First leadership. In this rapidly changing global landscape, the Trump Administration wants to ensure that our workers have the resources and opportunities they need to compete and earn a good, fair living without unnecessary government interference.
In that spirit, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has issued a proposed rule that provides clarity to help both employees and employers determine when a worker is properly classified as an independent contractor and when that worker is an employee owed strict protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). By proposing this rule, we celebrate the decisions of Americans who choose to put their entrepreneurial spirit to the test – the same spirit on which our country was founded 250 years ago.
I HAD TO LEAVE CALIFORNIA TO SAVE MY BUSINESS. NOW THERE IS HOPE
The way Americans work is changing rapidly, and several states are responding by limiting workers’ ability to independently choose work in the name of reducing worker misclassification. Eliminating employee misclassification is necessary to ensure that employees receive what they are entitled to. But doing so in a way that severely limits Americans’ freedom to work as they choose stifles ambition, betrays our fundamental values as a nation, and harms our economy.
The way Americans work is changing rapidly, and several states are responding by limiting workers’ ability to independently choose work in the name of reducing worker misclassification.
Under the leadership of President Trump, the Department of Labor is opting for a better approach. By providing clear guidance to American workers and employers within the bounds of long-standing legal precedent, my department balances the need to give independent workers and business owners the flexibility they want with our mandate to preserve the robust legal protections owed to true FLSA workers.
The Labor Department’s proposed rule would repeal the Biden administration’s 2024 independent contractor rule, which made it more difficult to work as an independent contractor and led to more confusion than clarity. (LaylaBird/Getty Images)
To that end, our proposed rule would repeal the Biden administration’s 2024 independent contractor rule, which made it more difficult to work as an independent contractor and led to more confusion than clarity. If left in place, the Biden rule would continue to produce unpredictable results that harm both workers and employers.
To provide much-needed clarity and help employers comply with the FLSA, our proposed rule would:
- Use the long-standing “economic reality” test adopted by federal courts to determine an employee’s appropriate classification.
- Identify two “core” factors that are most useful in determining an employee’s classification: the nature and degree of control the employee has over the job and the employee’s opportunity for profit or loss.
- Indicate that three additional factors – skill, sustainability and whether the work is part of an integrated production unit – have value in this analysis but are generally less useful in determining classification.
- Make it clear that the actual practice of a work arrangement – the reality between employee and employer on site – is more relevant than what is contractually or theoretically possible.
- Provide eight concrete examples of how the factors would apply in real-life circumstances.
Regardless of the complexity or scope of the work arrangement – whether as a truck driver, an independent truck driver or a freelance writer – the proposed rule will make it easier to define work roles with greater predictability.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE FOX NEWS ADVICE
By basing this classification structure on long-standing legal principles and providing illustrative examples of real-world applications, the proposed rule will deliver tangible benefits to independent workers and employees alike.
These changes will also give employers more power by reducing the risk of FLSA misclassification violations, which harm compliant employees and employers.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
I encourage all interested parties to submit public comments to the department during the 60-day comment period, which ends April 28.
With your help, and under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Labor will continue to fight for American workers every day to ensure their rights and needs come first.
CLICK HERE TO FROM LABOR SECRETARY LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER
