The Department of Labor published Thursday its final rule clarifying the definition of independent contractor as it relates to the Fair Labor Standards Act, despite the Biden administration announcing last week that it would halt a number of the Trump administration’s “midnight regulations,” including DOL’s pending independent contractor rule.
The final rule, if it stands, will take effect March 8.
DOL says that after reviewing comments submitted following its notice of proposed rulemaking in September that it will adopt the guidance from the proposal. “The final rule explains that independent contractors are workers who, as a matter of economic reality, are in business for themselves as opposed to being economically dependent on the potential employer for work,” the rule states.
The rule uses five economic-reality factors to help businesses determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Two of those factors – the nature and degree of the worker’s control over the work and the worker’s opportunity for profit or loss – are the two primary factors for determining a worker’s classification and carry greater weight than the other three factors.
The other factors include: the amount of skill required for the work; the degree of permanence of the working relationship between the worker and the potential employer; and whether the work is part of an integrated unit of production.
Original article provided by: https://www.ccjdigital.com/ccj-daily-dispatch-jan-7-dol-publishes-final-rule-to-define-independent-contractor-within-flsa/
