The Center for Workplace Compliance (CWC), our affiliated nonprofit membership association, has submitted comments supporting DOL’s proposed changes to the independent contractor status rule.
The Wage and Hour Division’s proposed interpretive worker classification revisions relate to the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, and the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act.
DOL has not enforced the Biden Administration’s 2024 worker classification rule since May 2025. The proposal would roll back the Biden-era rule and revive a more streamlined economic reality analysis. Finalizing the proposal would largely restore the Trump Administration’s 2021 rule.
CWC’s comments state that DOL’s proposal provides a clearer and more predictable framework for determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. CWC agrees with the proposal’s accord of greater weight to two of the five factors to be considered, specifically: (1) the nature and degree of the individual’s control over the work, and (2) the individual’s opportunity for profit or loss.
CWC members can read more here. Employers should consider enrolling in CWC’s Fundamentals of Wage and Hour Compliance course.