The U.S. Department of Labor rule, which could take months to take effect, would replace a scrapped Trump-era standard that had lowered the bar for classifying employees as contractors, workers who are not covered by federal minimum wage laws and are not entitled to benefits including health insurance and paid sick days.
The rule, however, does not carry the same weight as a law passed by Congress or state legislatures, nor does it specify whether any specific company or industry should reclassify their workers. Rather, it offers an interpretation of who should qualify for protection under the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act.
"I don't think it will stop the debate," Campos-Medina said. "The only thing the federal rule does is it creates a basic standard for evaluation." "A classification to employees would essentially throw the business model upside down and cause some major structural changes if this holds," Ives wrote."Today's proposed rule takes a measured approach, essentially returning us to the Obama era, during which our industry grew exponentially" CR Wooters, head of federal affairs at Uber, said in a statement.
Biden?