Ted Hollis Shares Insight on New DOL Rule About Worker Classification in SHRM Article

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Ted Hollis, an Indianapolis-based partner in the Quarles & Brady Labor & Employment Practice Group, provided insight for a SHRM article about the U.S. Department of Labor’s on classifying workers as employees or independent contractors.

The new rule, which mandates that companies consider several economic factors when deciding if someone gets classified as a W-2 employee or independent contractor, is expected to particularly impact industries such as health care and trucking.

An excerpt:

Many nurses and home health aides work part time for more than one staffing agency. In the nurse staffing industry, independent contractor status “has been a simmering issue for a while,” said Ted Hollis, an attorney with Quarles & Brady in Indianapolis. It’s likely that the staffing agencies and health care facilities will re-evaluate their use of the 1099 model going forward, he said.

Employers will “need to step back and look at ‘what is the economic reality? Is this worker dependent on us?’ ” Hollis said. “Some health care facilities will want to take on less risk,” while others may wait and see the results of future enforcement actions by the DOL.

There’s a shortage of nurses and home health aides right now, partially due to early retirements during the COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing medical needs of Baby Boomers, most of whom are over age 60, according to the American Association of Colleges of Nursing [aacnnursing.org]. Health care companies “are going to have to be more competitive to retain and get the workers they need,” Hollis said. “It may make it harder for a company that’s using the 1099 model to be as competitive.”

Likewise, the new rule “is going to be a very big deal for the trucking industry, which is very concerned about the impact this rule may have,” Hollis said.

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