Effective May 6, the U.S. Department of Labor has withdrawn the Independent Contractor Rule.
When the DOL initially published the rule in the Federal Register Jan. 7, 2021 — during the final days of Donald Trump’s presidency — the agency noted that it was “revising its interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act to promote certainty” for stakeholders, including the trucking industry, as well as in an effort to reduce litigation and “encourage innovation in the economy.”
The Jan. 7 rule sought to define the difference between an employee and an independent contractor, noting, “The ultimate inquiry is whether, as a matter of economic reality, the worker is dependent on a particular individual, business, or organization for work (and is thus an employee) or is in business for him- or herself (and is thus an independent contractor).”