Tweaks in final independent contractor rule could benefit trucking
More than a year after it was first proposed, the Department of Labor has formally released its final independent contractor rule that one leading analyst said was “little … changed substantively in comparison to the proposed rule.”
But there are provisions in the changes, though minor, that are being viewed as positive for the trucking industry.
The DOL’s rule becomes the guidance that the Wage and Hour division of the DOL will use in settling issues that come before it.
That leading analyst is Richard Reibstein, an attorney with Locke Lord who writes a blog devoted solely to issues of independent contractor status.
Reibstein, in a blog post published soon after the early Tuesday release of the rule, said there was “no surprise” in the final version. “Only a few tweaks were made despite the fact that over 55,000 comments to the proposed regulation were posted in a two-month period by individuals and organizations both in support of and in opposition to the proposed regulation,” he wrote.
Within an hour of the rule being published in the Federal Register, the American Trucking Associations released a statement blasting its contents.
“I can think of nothing more un-American than for the government to extinguish the freedom of individuals to choose work arrangements that suit their needs and fulfill their ambitions,” ATA President Chris Spear said of the rule.
“It’s unfortunate that the Administration has chosen to replace a clear and straightforward standard with a tangled mess that weakens our supply chain and undermines the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of truckers across the country. ATA will work with members of Congress and other stakeholders to defeat this ill-advised rule.”
That apocalyptic view of the rule differs sharply from what Reibstein wrote. In his blog posted Tuesday, he referred back to an earlier statement of his on the proposed rule. “Unlike most regulations with hard and fast rules, the regulation was in the nature of an administrative interpretation comprising the Labor Department’s review of existing court decisions and its articulation of a preferred legal analysis … [that] courts would give little if any deference to.”
His conclusion was that “the Biden Administration’s final 2024 regulation is no different.”
“Incrementally positive”
Trucking-focused law firm Scopelitis said in an email alert that “as compared to the initial proposed rule, there were some incrementally positive changes in response to comments filed by commenters, including comments filed by Scopelitis, though not enough to make the final rule favorable on balance.”
Source: freightwaves.com
