Trump DOL Signals a Back-off from Defending Independent Contractor Rule
The Trump Administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to postpone oral argument in a lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s 2024 independent contractor rule. The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to pause oral argument in a legal challenge brought by trucking companies in order to give the incoming leadership at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) a chance to review the case and determine its next steps in the litigation. The appeals court granted the motion, tabling oral argument which had been scheduled for Feb. 5, 2025. ( Frisard’s Transp., LLC v. United States DOL , No. 24-30223, Jan. 24, 2025). The 2024 independent contractor rule, issued in January 2024, revised the DOL standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the FLSA. The rule, which took effect March 11, 2024, formally adopted the six-factor “economic realities” test to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contracto...