DOL Rolls Back Trump Administration's Independent Contractor Rule

Employers who have been following the Department of Labor's (DOL) guidance on independent contractors may feel that they are sitting on a playground seesaw.

As we previously reported this past January, in the waning days of the Trump administration, the DOL issued a final rule (the Rule) on Independent Contractor Status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Rule modified the DOL's test for classifying workers as employees or independent contractors for purposes of the FLSA, making the test broader and friendlier to employers. Specifically, the agency adopted a five-factor test but emphasized two factors as most important: (1) the nature and degree of the individual's control over the work, and (2) the opportunity for profit or loss.