On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor announced the publication of a proposed rule to revise the Department’s guidance on how to determine who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) would rescind an earlier rule on this topic that was published on January 7, 2021, and replace it with an analysis for determining employee or independent contractor status that is more consistent with the FLSA as interpreted by longstanding judicial precedent. The Department believes that its proposed rule would reduce the risk that employees are misclassified as independent contractors, while providing added certainty for businesses that engage (or wish to engage) with individuals who are in business for themselves.
The Department encourages interested parties to submit comments on this proposal by November 28, 2022. The full text of the NPRM, as well as information on the deadline for submitting comments and the procedures for submitting comments, can be found at Federalregister.gov. The NPRM’s 45-day comment period closes at 11:59 p.m. ET on November 28, 2022.
Anyone who submits a comment (including duplicate comments) should understand and expect that the comment, including any personal information provided, will become a matter of public record and will be posted without change to www.regulations.gov. The Wage and Hour Division posts comments gathered and submitted by a third-party organization as a group under a single document ID number on www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided.
Additional Information
Proposed Rule: Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act
News Release: U.S. Department Of Labor Announces Proposed Rule on Classifying Employees, Independent Contractors; Seeks to Return to Longstanding Interpretation
