Wage and Hour division

ATA chief rips OOIDA stance on Biden independent contractor rule

Lewie Pugh of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association made only a few comments at his House of Representatives committee appearance July 24 about the Biden administration’s independent contractor (IC) rule. 

But they were enough to draw a strong rebuke from Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations. Spear took to ATA’s Transport Topics website last week to express his displeasure with OOIDA and the comments by Pugh, who is an executive vice president of OOIDA and inc...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ata-chief-rips-ooida-stance-on-biden-independent-contractor-rule

14-year-old case that brought ABC test to New Jersey was just settled

The case that first brought the ABC test for determining independent contractor status into New Jersey involved truck drivers hauling bedding. Fourteen years later, the case has been settled out of court.

That’s just one development in recent weeks regarding the always contentious question of how a court or regulator determines whether a worker is an employee or a truly independent contractor.

In recent weeks, there has also been the Department of Labor’s independent contractor rule, which sets...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/14-year-old-case-that-brought-abc-test-to-new-jersey-was-just-settled

New trucking trade group has 1 focus: DOL’s independent contractor rule

There’s a new trucking-focused trade group in Washington and it is interested in one issue: independent contractor status.

The group is called Truckers Integral to our Economy (TIE) and its executive director is Scott Brenner, who is also an executive director at Crossroads Strategies, a Washington-area lobbying firm. Brenner told FreightWaves he worked in Congress for about 10 years on the Ways and Means and Transportation committees and also spent time at the Department of Transportation...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/new-trucking-trade-group-has-1-focus-dols-independent-contractor-rule

DOL independent contractor definition could pose problems for truck fleets

The more than 160-page proposed rule on defining independent contractors now up for comment by the Department of Labor has a few provisions that transportation attorneys believe could be a problem for transportation companies.

While the proposed rule may be hefty in size, it does not include a great deal of specificity. (The words “truck” and “trucking” only appear once each.) This new DOL rule would replace a Trump administration rule still in effect after a court decision reinstated it after...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dol-independent-contractor-definition-could-pose-problems-for-truck-fleets

Biden administration revising rule on independent contractors

Driver with truck at service station

The Biden administration has unveiled a proposed rule that could raise costs for trucking companies and gig transportation, such as Uber and Lyft, that rely on independent contractors.

The 184-page proposed rule, revealed by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division (WHD) on Tuesday, reinstates guidance similar to that used under the Obama administration that is considered less favorable to classifying workers as independent contractors.

“Through our enforcement in the wage and hour...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-administration-revising-rule-on-independent-contractors

Federal Trade Commission joining independent contractor fray 

There is a new federal government player in the raging battle on how to define an independent contractor: the Federal Trade Commission.

The involvement of the FTC in the issue of defining the legal status of gig workers does not involve a new rule. Rather it comes from a statement released earlier this month by the agency, which features this broad goal: “Protecting (gig) workers from unfair, deceptive and anticompetitive practices is a priority, and the FTC will use its full authority to do so.”

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/federal-trade-commission-joining-independent-contractor-fray

Schneider driver ruled an employee in federal court appeal

In the midst of numerous battles regarding independent contractor status, a federal district court has sided with a driver who claimed in a lawsuit against Schneider National that he was effectively an employee rather than an independent owner-operator.

The suit was filed in July 2020 by Eric Brant, who drove for Schneider between December 2018 and August 2019. The decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit comes down almost completely on the side of Brant, whose allegations are...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/schneider-driver-ruled-an-employee-in-federal-court-appeal

Biden administration seeks input on independent contractor definition

The Biden administration has started the process to formulate a new definition of independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act.

The rule has been a ping-pong ball since the early days of the Biden administration. A Trump-era rule seen as more sympathetic to employers that want to define their workers as independent was tossed out by the Biden administration before it went into effect. That action was then overruled in court, and the Trump administration rule was implemented.

Even as...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/biden-administration-seeks-input-on-independent-contractor-definition

GSCW chat: Transportation attorney says multiple factors shaping independent contractor definition

FIRESIDE CHAT TOPIC: The 2022 battlefield to decide: Employee or independent contractor?

DETAILS: The never-ending legal and regulatory fight over whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor faces the prospect of a significant 2022. Whether it’s a U.S. Supreme Court resolution of California’s AB5 relative to trucking, or a new rule on independent contractors coming out the Department of Labor, it’s going to be a highly consequential year, and attorney Marc Blubaugh joins...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/gscw-chat-transportation-attorney-says-multiple-factors-shaping-independent-contractor-definition

Weil’s controversial Wage and Hour Division nomination heads to Senate

For the independent contractors involved in the battle regarding what constitutes an IC — be it a truck driver or a freelance writer — one of the next big decisions is going to take place in the U.S. Senate.

That’s where the full Senate will take up the nomination of David Weil as the administrator of the Wage and Hour Division of the Department of Labor, a position that will be key in determining what guidelines the federal government will use to define ICs.

Weil was nominated to the job in...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/weils-controversial-wage-and-hour-division-nomination-heads-to-senate

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