Citing Legal Challenges, Trump’s DOL to Overturn Biden-Era Independent Contractor Rule; Will Consider Next Steps for New Rule

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced through the Trump administration’s unified agenda its intention to rescind its own 2024 final rule, which provided an analysis for determining independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) (“2024 IC Rule”). 

Citing to five separate legal challenges to the 2024 IC Rule and its intention to “reduce unnecessary burdens on employers and employees,” the Trump DOL aims to retool its independent contractor rule. This announcement, while significant, is of no surprise, as it comes on heels of the Trump DOL announcing on May 1, 2025 that it would no longer enforce the 2024 IC Rule. Instead, the DOL would enforce the FLSA in accordance with Fact Sheet #13 (from July 2008) and as further informed by the reinstated Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6, which addresses classification in the context of virtual marketplace platforms.

While the Trump DOL “is considering how it will proceed with respect to independent contractor classification under the FLSA[],” it has foreshadowed that any new rule would be deregulatory in nature. Moreover, and in light of already reverting independent contractor guidance to what was in effect before the Biden Era, the Trump DOL leaves open the possibility of rescinding the 2024 IC Rule before its replacement is finalized. 

Until a new independent contractor rule comes into effect, companies should reacquaint themselves with Fact Sheet #13 (from July 2008) and reinstated Opinion Letter FLSA2019-6 that the DOL now considers controlling. Moreover, companies should also review and evaluate potential differences in state law tests for determining independent contractor classification under wage (and various other) laws. Companies should also keep in mind that the various U.S. circuit courts have their own versions of the test, which they may continue to apply in any litigation. Companies with questions about those tests should work with experienced counsel.