美国.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) test for determining whether a worker should be classified as an independent contractor or an employee for purposes of the federal Fair Labor St和ards Act (FLSA) has been revised several times over the past decade. 现在, 劳工部正在实施一项新的最终规定 rescinding the employer-friendly test that was developed under the Trump administration. 这项对员工更友好的新规定将于2024年3月11日生效.
新最终规则的作用
Even though the DOL’s final rule isn’t necessarily controlling for courts weighing employment status issues, 它很可能被认为是有说服力的权威. 此外，它将指导DOL错误分类审计和执法行动.
如果你被发现错误地将员工归类为独立承包商, 如果员工没有拿到最低工资或加班费，你可能会欠薪, 还有处罚. You also could end up liable for withheld employee benefits 和 find yourself subject to various federal 和 状态 employment laws that apply based on the number of affected employees.
被撤销的测试
The Trump administration’s test (known as the 2021 Independent Contractor Rule) focuses primarily on whether, 作为一种“经济现实”,” workers are dependent on employers for work or are in business for themselves. 它考察了五个因素. 虽然没有单一因素在起控制作用, the 2021 rule identifies two so-called “core factors” that are deemed most relevant:
- 雇主对工作控制的性质和程度，以及
- 工人的赢利和亏损的机会.
如果这两个因素都表明了相同的分类, 这种分类很可能是正确的.
新测试
最终的新规则与2022年10月公布的拟议规则密切相关. 根据美国劳工部, 它延续了工人不是独立承包人的观念，如果, 这是经济现实问题, 个人在经济上依赖雇主工作. The DOL says the rule aligns with both judicial precedent 和 its own interpretive guidance prior to 2021.
具体地说, the final rule enumerates six factors that will guide DOL analysis of whether a worker is an employee under the FLSA:
- The worker’s opportunity for profit or loss depending on managerial skill (the lack of such opportunity suggests employee status),
- Investments by the worker 和 the potential employer (if the worker makes similar types of investments as the employer, 即使是在较小的范围内, 它建议独立承包商的地位),
- 工作关系的持久程度(不确定的), 持续的或排他性的关系表明员工状态),
- 雇主的性质和控制程度, whether exercised or just reserved (control over the performance of the work 和 the relationship’s economic aspects suggests employee status),
- Extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business (if the work is critical, 必要的:对主要业务必不可少的或中心的, 这个工人很可能是雇员), 和
- The worker’s skill 和 initiative (if the worker brings specialized skills 和 uses them in connection with business-like initiative, 工人可能是一个独立的承包商).
与2021年的规则相反, all factors will be weighed — no single factor or set of factors will automatically determine a worker’s status.
The final new rule does make some modifications 和澄清s to the proposed rule. 例如, it explains that actions that an employer takes solely to comply with specific 和 applicable federal, 状态, tribal or local laws or regulations don’t indicate “control” suggestive of employee status. But those that go beyond compliance 和 instead serve the employer’s own compliance methods, 安全, 质量控制, 或者合同标准或客户服务标准也可以这样做.
The final rule also recognizes that a lack of permanence in a work relationship can sometimes be due to operational characteristics unique or intrinsic to particular businesses or industries 和 the workers they employ. The relevant question is whether the lack of permanence is due to workers exercising their own independent business initiative, 这表示独立承包商的状态. 另一方面, the seasonal or temporary nature of work alone doesn’t necessarily indicate independent contractor classification.
返回, 和澄清, of the factor related to whether the work is integral to the business also is notable. The 2021 rule includes a noncore factor that asks only whether the work was part of an integrated unit of production. The final new rule focuses on whether the business function the worker performs is an integral part of the business.
就税务而言
在一系列的Q中&As, the DOL addressed the question: “Can an individual be an employee for FLSA purposes even if he or she is an independent contractor for tax purposes?答案是肯定的.
The DOL explained that the IRS applies its version of the common law control test to analyze if a worker is an employee or independent contractor for tax purposes. 虽然美国劳工部考虑的许多因素与美国国税局相同, it added that “the economic reality test for FLSA purposes is based on a specific definition of ‘employ’ in the FLSA, which provides that employers ‘employ’ workers if they ‘suffer or permit’ them to work.”
In court cases, this language has been interpreted to be broader than the common law control test. 因此, some workers who may be classified as contractors for tax purposes may be employees for FLSA purposes because, 这是经济现实问题, 他们在经济上依赖雇主的工作.
下一个步骤
毫不奇怪，美国劳工部的最终新规定已经面临法庭挑战. 尽管如此, you should review your work relationships if you use freelancers 和 other independent contractors 和 make any appropriate changes. 还记得, 太, 各州可以有不同的测试, 其中一些比DOL的最终规定更严格. 联系 your employment attorney if you have questions about the DOL’s new rule. We can assist with any issues you may have regarding independent contractor status for tax purposes.
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