Client Alert: U.S. Department of Labor Proposes New Rule on Employee vs. Independent Contractor Classification

On February 26, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor's (DOL) Wage and Hour Division published a proposed rule designed to clarify when a worker is properly classified as an employee versus an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act and related federal laws. The proposed rule would rescind the DOL's 2024 final rule addressing independent contractor classification—a Biden-era regulation—and replace it with an analysis similar to the framework the DOL previously adopted in 2021.... By: Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP