Are They Employees or Independent Contractors? The Test for Classifying Independent Contractors is Shifting Away from “Economic Reality”

Are They Employees or Independent Contractors? The Test for Classifying Independent Contractors is Shifting Away from “Economic Reality”

The Trump administration’s U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) rang in May by publishing guidance directing DOL to stop enforcing a Biden-era rule (that itself had rescinded a DOL rule created during the first Trump administration) on the factors distinguishing independent contractors from employees. Although the Biden-era rule remains “on the books” for now while the DOL considers replacing it, the no-enforcement transitional period leaves employers…