The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division updated its regulation concerning Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standard Act, with changes effective March 11, 2024. The revised rule finalizes the proposed rulemaking released in October 2022 with a goal ostensibly to remove confusion over whether a worker falls into the” employee” or “independent contractor” classification for wage and hour purposes. According to the DOL, the updated analysis for classifying “employee” and “independent contractor” seeks to be more consistent with judicial precedent and the Fair Labor Standard Act’s text and purpose.
