The Direct Selling Association (DSA) alerted companies of a new field assistance bulletin by the US Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour division that provides guidance about how to determine employee or independent contract status when enforcing the Fair Labor Standards Act. Included in the advisory is confirmation that the challenging worker classification 2024 rule is not currently being enforced. When it is enforced, the DSA says, investigators will use long-standing classification principles to do so. For now, there are no new regulatory changes, but the Department of Labor does maintain the right to enforce the regulation at its discretion.
The DSA met with senior officials from the Department of Labor earlier this year and shared concerns about the final rule, saying it causes “an enormous level of confusion.” The DSA will continue to seek the reintroduction of legislation that clearly defines direct sellers as independent contractors under the Fair Labor Standards Act.
