DOL Clarifies "Independent Contractor"

Last week the Department of Labor issued new guidance on how to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. The release breaks no new ground, but it’s the first time the DOL position has been codified in the form of an Administrator Interpretation, and it adopts “perhaps the most expansive definition of ‘employee’ possible,” according to a post from Ogletree Deakins attorney Margaret Santen Hanrahan. She explains the DOL’s six-factor “economic realities test,” which is essentially what the DOL will use to make the determination.