Employers around the country may have breathed a sigh of relief upon learning of the DOL’s regulatory agenda released yesterday. Claiming to put “American Workers, Businesses First…,” the DOL confirms it will be undoing several Biden-era rules that have not favored businesses, including the narrower test of independent contractor status and the broader scope of joint employer liability.
Packed with over 150 agenda items, there are several key measures labelled high-priority action items that address independent contractors, joint employers, and whether certain salaried employees are exempt under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).
On the independent contractor issue, the DOL intends to discard the Biden-era Rule assessing independent contractor (versus employee) status, as a deregulatory action, and without immediate plans for replacement. That Rule uses a six-prong economic realities test to determine worker status. Since May, the DOL has not enforced the Biden-era Rule and even issued a Field Assistance Bulletin to its field staff to not follow that analysis.
On the joint employer issue, the DOL is considering a rule to “guide WHD’s enforcement of FLSA joint employer liability and help promote greater uniformity among court decisions nationwide.”
On the exemption issue, the DOL has confirmed it will be re-evaluating the regulations that implement the domestic service worker exemptions, specifically focusing on an Obama-era Rule that extended wage protections to live-in domestic service workers.
