The Labor Department proposes to safeguard “workers’ entrepreneurial spirit and simplify compliance for American job creators.” (Jeff Kowalsky/Bloomberg)
March 2, 2026 4:12 PM, EST
The Department of Labor plans to rescind a controversial independent contractor rule in a move welcomed by truckers.
Secretary of Labor Lori Chavez-DeRemer announced Feb. 26 a proposed rule under the Wage and Hour Division to rescind a Biden-era final rule.
“The tens of millions of Americans who work as independent contractors are helping drive the Golden Age of the American economy,” Chavez-DeRemer said. “The department’s proposed rule seeks to protect these workers’ entrepreneurial spirit and simplify compliance for American job creators navigating a modern workplace, all while maintaining robust protections for employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act.”
The proposed rule would undo a 2024 final rule classifying independent contractors and replace it with an employee classification analysis similar to one the department used in 2021.
“Consistent with Supreme Court and federal circuit court precedent, the proposed rule would make it easier to properly differentiate between employees with the protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act and those workers who work as independent contractors,” the agency stated.
“The Trump administration’s proposal represents a significant step forward,” ATA President Chris Spear says. (American Trucking Associations)
This development was welcomed by American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear, who said the proposed rule would do away with “a destructive” classification standard and promote a regulation to protect over 350,000 independent truckers.
“Following years of advocacy led by ATA, the Trump administration’s proposal represents a significant step forward to defend the livelihoods of the hundreds of thousands of truckers who choose to work as independent contractors,” Spear said.
He thanked President Donald Trump “for listening to the concerns of professional drivers and taking action to protect individual opportunity, our supply chain and our economy.”
Spear noted ATA will continue to support finalizing the new rule and encouraging Congress to pass legislation to codify the policy into law.
ATA said the proposed rule would restore the first Trump administration’s definition for independent contractors “that brought clarity and order to the law in this area. In 2024, independent contractors came under fire when the Biden administration radically rewrote their classification, replacing a straightforward definition with an opaque and deliberately confusing standard designed to fuel frivolous litigation and deny self-employed individuals the freedom of choice to work as independent contractors.”
Emily is one of the hundreds of thousands of truckers whose livelihoods were jeopardized by the independent contractor rule issued under Acting Labor Secretary Julie Su last year.
Emily spoke directly with USDOL leaders about the importance of protecting independent truckers… pic.twitter.com/5wsjX6MJDA
— American Trucking (@TRUCKINGdotORG) September 9, 2025
The Labor Department noted that the proposed rule would:
- Apply an “economic reality” test to decide if a worker is in business as an independent contractor or employee economically dependent on an employer.
- Identify/explain two “core factors” to determine if a worker economically relies on an employer for work/business who has control over the work. It would also examine if the worker can incur profit or losses based on initiative and/or investment.
The new rule would evaluate if a worker’s skill is required for a job, how permanent a working relationship is and whether the job falls within part of an integrated production team.
“The rule we are proposing today is not only based on long-standing legal principles used in federal courts across the country but also is aimed at ensuring that workers and employers know how to apply those principles predictably,” said Andrew Rogers, administrator of the Wage and Hour Division. “The department believes that streamlined regulations in line with Congress’ intent when it passed the Fair Labor Standards Act would improve compliance, reduce misclassification and reduce costly litigation in an economic environment that needs flexibility and innovation.”
Public comments are being accepted on the proposed rule for a 60-day period ending April 28 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time.
