Labor Dept. officially withdraws rule to define independent contractor within FLSA
The Department of Labor is officially withdrawing a late-Trump-era rulemaking that would have clarified the definition of what it means to be an
independent contractor within the Fair Labor Standards Act. Because the rule never took effect, owner-operators will see no changes as a result of the rule s withdrawal.
DOL published the final rule on Jan. 7, shortly before the end of Trump’s presidency. Just days prior to the rule’s publication, the incoming Biden administration specifically mentioned the independent contractor rule as one of Trump’s “midnight regulations” that would be halted.