If it had been released at some other point in time and under different circumstances, perhaps gig economy businesses would be celebrating the release of a federal rule that makes it easier to classify workers as independent contractors. But the fact that it wasn’t formalized until the waning days of the current administration means that the rule faces long odds of ever taking effect. We wrote about the rule in our Legal Alert that can be found here – feel free to check it out if you want the particulars of what the rule could bring to the table when it comes to establishing a worker classification standard. The Alert also provides details regarding the roadblocks the rule faces: the impending “midnight” memo to be released on January 20 that will temporarily freeze this rule and prevent it from taking effect on March 8 as planned; the probable litigation that will be filed to block the rule from taking effect on a permanent basis; an incoming administration that will almost certainly take additional steps to shelve the rule; and a possible replacement rule that would almost certainly be worker-centric. Add to that the recent news that Marty Walsh will soon head the Labor Department – his labor background makes it all but certain that he will oppose this rule – and you can see why it seems unlikely that the rule will ever become the law of the land.
