The Department of Labor moved Thursday to end two rules established under the Trump administration that reduced federal labor protections for millions of workers.
Both rules dealt with classifications of workers as employees or independent contractors, a distinction that governs whether an employer should provide benefits, including health care.
In a statement, the agency said it was proposing changes to two rules instituted under the previous administration: the final independent contractor rule, approved by the agency a few days earlier. President Biden
Joe BidenManchin cements key vote status in Senate 50-50 Note: how COVID revalued policy Post-pandemic plans for lawmakers: Chuck E. Cheese, visiting friends, clean hugs MORE took office in January, as well as a regulation issued by the Department of Labor under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which was largely removed by a court decision last year.
“The mission of the Wages and Hours Division is to protect and respect the rights of workers. Resolving these rules would strengthen the protection of workers, including essential front-line workers who have done so much during these difficult times, ”a Labor Department spokesman said.
“While legitimate independent contractors are an important part of our economy, the erroneous classification of employees as independent contractors denies workers access to critical benefits and protections provided by law,” they added. “In addition, the elimination of a standard for joint employment that may be unduly narrow would protect more workers’ wages and improve their welfare and economic security.”
The two proposed rule changes come as the president has faced pressure from the left on the issue; California passed a voting initiative last year that weakened a state law that previously required shared travel companies like Uber and Lyft to classify their workers as employees, a major defeat for activists who have argued that these companies they exploit workers by not providing benefits.
Labor and activist groups moved earlier this year to challenge this voting initiative, calling it unconstitutional.
“This unconstitutional law, which the concerted companies bought with hundreds of millions of dollars in political spending, is an affront to the protections and fundamental rights that all workers deserve and must be quickly attacked by the courts,” the chief said. of the California Labor Federation. in January.