Labor Dept. officially withdraws rule to define independent contractor within FLSA
The Department of Labor is officially withdrawing a late-Trump-era rulemaking that would have clarified the definition of what it means to be an
independent contractor within the Fair Labor Standards Act. Because the rule never took effect, owner-operators will see no changes as a result of the rule s withdrawal.
DOL published the final rule on Jan. 7, shortly before the end of Trump’s presidency. Just days prior to the rule’s publication, the incoming Biden administration specifically mentioned the independent contractor rule as one of Trump’s “midnight regulations” that would be halted.
It’s been a year since truckers from two Facebook groups “Mayday 2020” and “The Disrespected Trucker” along with supporters, gathered in Washington to protest low freight rates and demand broker transparency.
Beginning May 1, 2020, protesters parked their trucks along Constitution Avenue in view of both the White House and the Capitol Building, sounding their air horns at intervals to let the population and the press know they were still on site. Protesters demanded a meeting at the White House to discuss ongoing issues.
Broker transparency was frequently mentioned. Complaints centered around the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s 49 CFR 371.3, a regulation that mandates that brokers share rate information with all parties they deal with in a shipping transaction. Truckers charged that, instead of complying, brokers forced truckers to sign a waiver of their rights to see the information if they wanted to do business.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association said in a letter to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that if last year’s proposed highway bill is a template for the upcoming version, the organization will again adamantly oppose it.
“Whether you’re a fleet owner, company driver or owner-operator, last year’s legislation was bad news,” said Todd Spencer, president of OOIDA. “Hopefully, the Committee will fix the harmful, anti-trucking provisions from last year’s bill. Some of what they are considering will result in more crashes, not less!”
The Association is anticipating the Committee will finalize this year’s Highway Bill legislation and expects to see an initial draft in the coming weeks. OOIDA’s letter outlines ways to improve the bill to be more supportive of small trucking businesses. If the 2021 bill looks like last year’s, H.R. 2, then it would include these objectionable trucking mandates:
Apr 22, 2021
While the GOP s proposal overall is smaller, the plan sets aside significantly more funding for roads and bridges – $299 billion compared to the $115 billion in Biden s plan.
Senate Republicans on Thursday unveiled their $568 billion infrastructure package – a counter proposal roughly 75% smaller than President Joe Biden s more than $2 trillion plan announced last month.
While the GOP s proposal overall is smaller, the plan sets aside significantly more funding for roads and bridges – $299 billion compared to the $115 billion in Biden s plan. While Biden s plan put less than 10% of its proposed funding into improving the nation’s highways and bridges, the GOP plan earmarks more than 52%.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association sent this letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg imploring the Biden Administration to include dedicated funding for truck parking in the
American Jobs Plan infrastructure package. OOIDA has long advocated addressing a severe, national shortage of safe parking for long-haul truck drivers and says it’s time to do more than studies and reports. It’s time to add capacity!
“Finding a safe place to park is a daily challenge that makes it difficult for truckers to get needed rest and comply with federal hours-of-service regulations,” said Todd Spencer, president of OOIDA. “We’ve been sounding the alarm on this issue for decades, pointing out the obvious connection to overall highway safety.”