Ted Hollis Quoted in HR Brew Article on DOL Changes to Independent Contractor Rule
Ted Hollis, an Indianapolis-based partner in the Quarles & Brady Labor & Employment Practice Group, provided insight for an HR Brew article about a proposed rule from the Department of Labor (DOL) to loosen restrictions related to determining whether someone is an independent contractor or employee.
Hollis explained that while the proposed rule would change how DOL handles its investigations, it would not be binding on courts. An excerpt:
While the DOL’s proposed rule gives a good indication of how the agency will treat investigations into worker misclassification, such cases may play out differently in private litigation, legal sources suggested.
“This rule is exactly that, an administrative rule, and courts can give it different degrees of deference, but they’re not bound by it in the sense of a statute,” said Ted Hollis, a partner with law firm Quarles & Brady, based in Indianapolis. Courts may well defer to a multifactor economic reality test akin to the 2024 rule when hearing cases regarding independent contractor classification, he added.
What’s more, employers have to comply with state laws that are in effect in the jurisdictions where their workers are based, and may well be more stringent than federal law. California, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, for example, all mandate that employers use a three-prong “ABC” test to determine if a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.
Please visit our Federal Policy Watch: Monitoring White House Developments page for more insight about navigating changes at the federal level.