ATA supports DoL directive to suspend independent contractor rule

Late last week, the American Trucking Associations (ATA) applauded action taken by the United States Department of Labor (DoL), in which the department issued a notice that directs agency administrators to not apply the independent contractor rule, which was issued by the Biden administration in enforcement matters.  

ATA said that this helps to bring back a definition for independent contractors drafted during the first Trump administration, which it said had more clarity and brought order to the law. And it added that the trucking industry has relied on independent contractors going back to the inception of interstate trucking, and court decisions over the last nine decades, continually reaffirming the legitimate role independent contractors play in the economy.

“We welcome today’s announcement that the Department will no longer use the Biden-era independent contractor rule to determine whether an individual is an employee or contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” said ATA President & CEO Chris Spear.  “This is a crucial first step toward returning to the common-sense standard set forth in President Trump’s first term, which protected the freedom of individuals to choose work arrangements that best suit their needs and fulfill their ambitions. We look forward to further progress on this issue and will continue to advocate for the 350,000 truckers nationwide who choose to operate independently for the economic opportunity it creates and flexibility it provides.”

In March 2024, a ruling that went into effect by the Biden administration created new requirements for defining who is and isn’t an independent worker, resulting in independent workers redefined as employees overnight.

The ATA said at the time that the Biden Administration’s IC rule eliminated this freedom and intentionally undermined the livelihoods of truckers and their families across the country by replacing a clear, straight-forward standard with a tangled mess that will weaken the supply chain.

In 2021, DOL issued a rule supported by ATA clarifying the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act as it relates to independent contractors. The March 2024 rule replaced the 2021 standard with what ATA called 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. 

ATA said it has strongly opposed the independent contractor rule since it was first proposed, and joined a broad coalition of organizations filing a lawsuit against it, and backed a legislative effort led by Representative Kevin Kiley (R-California) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) to overturn the rule.