The DOL's new interpretation of the FLSA test for
classification purports to eliminate independent contractor status
for most workers and broadly expand the FLSA's coverage.
On July 15, David Weil, the Administrator for the US Department
of Labor's (DOL's) Wage and Hour Division, issued an
Administrator's Interpretation concerning the Fair Labor
Standards Act (FLSA) and specifically addressing the test to
determine if an individual is an employee or an independent
contractor. The new interpretation—which the DOL declined to
submit for comment by the public (as it does with most proposed
regulations)—concludes that "most workers are employees
under the FLSA's broad definitions."
Purportedly spurred by the receipt of "numerous complaints
from workers alleging misclassification" and the history of
"successful enforcement actions against employers who
misclassify workers," the interpretation ignores decades of
legal precedent concerning the classification of employees
