DOL proposes new independent contractor rule

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) proposed its long-awaited independent contractor regulation on October 11, 2022. This is the culmination of a 19-month effort by the Biden administration to replace the regulation issued by the Trump administration. The comment period is 45 days.

Back to the future

The Obama aministration, under the aegis of then-Wage and Hour Administrator David Weil, issued a controversial guidance that sought to significantly broaden the definition of “employee.” In January 2021, during the last days of the Trump administration, a different rule was published, set to become effective in March 2021. The new Biden administration quickly tried to rescind the Trump rule, but in March 2022, a judge rejected the rescission effort and ruled the Trump regulation was in effect. Since then, the Biden DOL has been working to rescind the old rule and draft this new regulation. In many respects, the proposed regulation, although presented as a restoration of “traditional” factors, reflects many of the positions of the Obama/Weil rule.

What’s in the proposed rule