Libertas Institute Submits Comments Opposing DOL Independent Contractor Reclassification

This week, Libertas Institute submitted comments to the Department of Labor (DOL) opposing its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking titled, “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” 

The DOL’s proposed rule, reclassifying many independent contractors in the gig economy as employees, will complicate the relationship between gig workers and their customers — resulting in fewer jobs, reduced income, and less economic opportunity.

We encourage the Department to rescind this proposed rule and instead work to expand opportunities for gig workers and other independent contractors to access benefits and protections through alternative means like portable benefits funds. Especially as the economy continues to grow and innovate, technological and societal changes should be harnessed to bring about a new way of achieving the FLSA’s directive of meeting a worker’s basic needs. 

Click here to read our full comments in the Federal Register.

Author Profile Image
About the author

Caden Rosenbaum

Caden Rosenbaum serves as the senior policy analyst leading the tech and innovation policy portfolio. As an attorney with experience analyzing laws and regulations, as well as advocating for substantive reform, his work contributed to the passage of the nation’s first portable benefit law, allowing companies to offer meaningful work-related benefits to gig workers in Utah. Caden’s diverse background in technology, innovation, and workforce policy includes many years working in Washington, DC alongside some of the country’s brightest minds at organizations like TechFreedom and the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University. Caden enjoys spending time with his wife, tending to his strawberry garden, and competing online in VR table tennis matches.

Share Post:

Fighting for a Future Where Individuals Are Fully Liberated to Pursue Their Dreams, Free from Coercion and Control.

You Might Also Like

When nearly 9,000 workers walked off the job in Philadelphia, the city didn’t just stink of garbage — it reeked of a system where taxpayers have no escape.
Worried AI will steal your job? The real story isn’t about jobs disappearing—it’s about which skills are truly safe.
Worried that AI will take your job? History says it’s more likely to make life better — and here’s why.

Help us Nail and Scale Policies to Reduce Government Control

Your tax-deductible contributions to Libertas Institute increase freedom across the country.