NLRB Reconsidering Trump-Era Independent Contractor Test (1)

The National Labor Relations Board will reconsider its Trump-era legal test for determining whether a worker is an employee protected by federal labor law or an independent contractor who is not.

The NLRB on Monday invited public briefing on the issue. Unions, employers, and other interested parties have until Feb. 10 to weigh in on the NLRB potentially overruling its 2019 decision in SuperShuttle DFW, which made it easier for companies to prove that their workers are independent contractors.

The legal test for employment status is a crucial issue for gig economy companies and other businesses that rely on contract labor to avoid the costs associated with employing workers, which include providing job benefits and potentially negotiating with their unions.