However, “supporters of the bill aren’t at this point interested in considering carve-outs because I think they’re concerned there would be a parade of groups asking for their industry to be carved out and that makes it more and more challenging to move the bill,” he said.
When it comes to the Labor Department, meanwhile, “there really hasn’t been a lot of conversation,” he said. The Labor Department under the Biden administration has “moved quickly to withdraw the rule and, while they have requested comment, the time period in which the window was open to provide comment was very narrow and it seemed that the decision was predetermined,” he said.
AP Photo/Ringo H.W. Chiu
In the deepening of the already cozy relationship between President Joe Biden and Big Labor, Fox News reports on waivers given to certain Biden administration appointees who had prior Union ties:
The Biden administration has come under scrutiny from Republicans on Capitol Hill following its decision to circumvent federal ethics rules and staff former union officials in senior posts.
Beginning as early as March, the White House waived certain rules for former labor union personnel slotted to fill Biden’s transition teams and government vacancies, who would have otherwise been prevented from communicating with their old unions.
DoL s withdrawal of independent contractor rule a setback for IBDs financial-planning.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from financial-planning.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Effective May 6, the U.S. Department of Labor has withdrawn the Independent Contractor Rule.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).”
Key Points:
The DOL has withdrawn a final rule published in the waning days of the Trump administration that established a multifactor test for determining whether workers are employees or independent contractors under the FLSA.
The rule was widely viewed as supporting the treatment of gig economy workers as independent contractors, but it had not yet taken effect, so the withdrawal means that current DOL regulations and interpretive guidance concerning contractor status remain in force and unchanged.
The DOL criticized the rule as contrary to longstanding interpretations of the FLSA. It remains to be seen whether the DOL will take additional steps to narrow the circumstances under which workers may be treated as contractors, but its rationale for withdrawal could hinder its ability to codify a rigorous “ABC” independent contractor test in its regulations without an amendment to the FLSA.