Posts tagged Fair Labor Standards Act
Commentary: The Federal Government Just Moved to Restore the Owner-Operator Model – Here Is What Actually Changed, What Did Not, and What You Still Need to Watch
March 16, 2026 // Three times in five years. That is how many times the federal standard governing whether an owner-operator is legally classified as an independent contractor or an employee has fundamentally shifted under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The 2021 Trump rule. The 2024 Biden rule. And now, on February 27, 2026, the Department of Labor’s formal proposal to rescind the 2024 rule and return to something close to the 2021 framework. Each time this pendulum swings, the trucking industry produces a wave of celebration or alarm depending on which direction it moved. The industry’s reaction to this latest move has been heavily celebratory — and not without reason. But if you are running a small fleet or operating as an owner-operator, the celebration needs to come with a clear-eyed understanding of what this rule change actually does, what it does not do, and where the real risk to your business model still sits.
21st Century Worker Act Aims to End Worker Classification Confusion
March 6, 2026 // Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) introduced the 21st Century Worker Act, a much needed practical step to clear up persistent confusion surrounding worker classification under federal law. The bill would replace the current patchwork of conflicting standards under the Fair Labor Standards Act, National Labor Relations Act, and Internal Revenue Code with a single, clear bright line test for determining independent contractor status across federal labor and tax statutes. It also directs the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to assess the impact of these new standards and allows workers and businesses freedom to mutually elect worker status in cases where conventional classifications do not apply clearly.
DOL moves to loosen independent contractor regulations
February 27, 2026 // The rule would replace the Biden-era “totality-of-the-circumstances” framework used to determine whether a worker was an independent contractor or an employee. At the time, SHRM said the 2024 rule “fosters ambiguity, deterring businesses from extending essential training to independent workers, a detrimental scenario for both parties involved.”
Education and Workforce Committee Passes 3 Bills to Expand Flexibility, Boost Earnings, and Hasten Back Pay
November 25, 2025 // On Thursday, the House Education and Workforce Committee passed three bills to boost flexibility, wages, and efficiency for workers. These three bills would modernize the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act to provide flexibility for workers, simplicity for tipped employees, and more efficient resolutions to payroll errors. Importantly, none of these provisions will cost taxpayers a single dime because they simply remove unnecessary barriers to flexibility and higher pay. In fact, at least one of the bills would likely save taxpayers from unnecessary administrative costs.
DOL once again set to tackle joint employer, independent contractor regulations
August 20, 2025 // Meanwhile, DOL in May told the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that it would no longer defend the last administration’s rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to consider environmental, social and governance, or ESG, factors when making investment decisions from a lawsuit filed by several Republican-led states. In another shift, DOL in June said it would begin issuing opinion letters through five of its subagencies. The agency’s new regime published the first such letter in May on the subject of the independent contractor classification status for virtual marketplace company workers. The letter reinstated a stance DOL previously articulated in a 2019 letter that had been rescinded during the Biden administration.
Pritzker signs union protection bills amid Trump war on federal unions
August 19, 2025 // The signing comes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency joined at least three other federal agencies in canceling contracts with unions to comply with President Trump’s March executive order that stripped many federal workers of union protections.
Federal and State Leaders Take Aim at Empowering America’s Flexible Workforce
July 16, 2025 // However, while federal leaders build support for national reforms to help workers all across America, states are not sitting idle. They know that not only do self-employed workers support greater access to portable benefits, but their residents in general think this warrants policy reforms as well. Instead, many are forging ahead with legal pathways for flexible, portable benefits, maximizing what they can do at the state level in ways that will be further enhanced by federal reforms when they occur. Many states introduced legislation this year to legalize voluntary benefits, but several pioneering states now have laws enacted.
GOP senators unveil legislation to cut taxes on overtime pay in line with Trump’s campaign promise
May 7, 2025 // The Overtime Wages Tax Relief Act, introduced by Sens. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), would allow individuals to deduct up to $10,000 in overtime pay from their tax bill. Married couples would be able to deduct up to $20,000. The legislation includes phase-out eligibility based on income. So, once individual adjusted gross income reaches $100,000, or $200,000 for married couples, the deduction is reduced by $50 for every $1,000 in earnings above the threshold.
Commentary 2 Bills Cutting Red Tape for Employee Benefits Advance in House
April 28, 2025 // By amending the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to treat child care and elder care subsidies the same as other fixed-cost workplace benefits such as health and life insurance, the Empowering Employer Child and Elder Care Solutions Act (H.R. 2270) would make it easier for employers to provide these benefits without having to include them in workers’ “regular rate” of pay calculations for overtime. This bill was introduced on March 21 by Rep. Mark Messmer, R-Ind., and was reported favorably out of committee on April 9. The Flexibility for Workers’ Education Act (H.R. 2262), introduced by Rep. Ashley Hinson, R-Iowa, would exclude voluntary, employer-provided “upskilling” opportunities from the “hours worked” calculation used to determine overtime pay, so long as employees do not perform work for their employer during that time and the education occurs outside of working hours. This bill was also reported favorably out of committee on April 9.
Give women more choice at work this Equal Pay Day
March 26, 2025 // One action politicians can take to benefit women is to give them more choice in the workplace so that they are compensated in a way that is most valuable to them. For example, some Americans, including many mothers, would prefer additional paid time off rather than additional pay for extra work. Currently, the Fair Labor Standards Act requires that covered nonexempt employees receive overtime pay for working overtime hours. Accumulating paid leave is not an option.