Labor Caucus Opposes Trump Administration’s Worker Misclassification Rule

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Labor Caucus Co-Chairs Reps. Mark Pocan (WI-02), Donald Norcross (NJ-01), Steven Horsford (NV-04), and Debbie Dingell (MI-06) led over 45 House Democrats in a letter urging Acting Secretary of Labor Sonderling to maintain the strong 2024 independent contractor standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and rescind the proposed rule weakening this standard.

“Accurate employee classification is essential to ensure every worker is afforded the rights and protections guaranteed under the FLSA that they deserve,” wrote the lawmakers. “Overly narrow interpretations of this relationship expose workers to greater risk of misclassification – which results in catastrophic losses in wages and benefits for that individual and subsequent losses in state and federal revenues. And we’ve seen these cases play out, often in devastating fashion, when businesses take advantage of employee classification to avoid paying workers what they owe them. These risks have an outsized impact on industries such as construction, entertainment, transportation, home care, and agriculture.”

On February 26, 2026, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to rescind the 2024 worker classification rule and return to an "economic reality" test. The rule will result in making it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors, which they argue strips millions of Americans of essential legal protections.

“The independent contractor rule must consider the totality of circumstances to identify the employer-employee relationship,” continued the lawmakers. “The proposed rule acknowledges that “the precise weight of any additional factors would depend on the circumstances of each case” but remains overly prescriptive in weighing the “core” factors. A multifactor approach would ensure that no employee in our communities falls through the cracks, and the proposed rule’s intentional deprioritization of other economic reality factors ignores the unique circumstances presented in the rapidly evolving and modernizing workforce.”

“We strongly encourage the Department of Labor to rescind this proposed rule and return to the standard outlined in the 2024 Final Rule to ensure workers remain protected on the job,” concluded the lawmakers.

A full copy of the letter can be found here. The letter was signed by 47 House Democrats.