dol’ SneW-old / diFFeRent-SameicclaSSiFicationStandaRd
Health Care Law Section Chairs: Elizabeth“ Beth” Scarola – EpsteinBecker & Green, P. C. & RebeccaArendsSiviglia – MoffittCancerCenter
dolmayonceagain( again) changethestandardthatapplies whendeterminingwhethera workerisanindependent contractororanemployee.
Do you know who your employees are? Before you answer, you should know the Department of Labor(“ DOL”) recently did two things: on May 1, 2025, the DOL published Field Assistance Bulletin no. 2025-1,“ FLSA Independent Contractor Misclassification Enforcement guidance,” and on May 2, 2025, the DOL reissued Opinion Letter
FLSA2019-6, now designated FLSA2025-2. These actions signal the DOL may once again( again) change the standard that applies when determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.
Traditionally, the DOL analyzed independent contractor / employee classifications using six factors under the economic realities test:
( 1) opportunity for profit or loss;( 2) investments by the worker and employer;( 3) permanence of the work relationship;( 4) nature and degree of control;( 5) whether the work performed is integral to the employer’ s business;( 6) and skill and initiative. The goal of the analysis was to determine if a
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