The Direct Selling Association (DSA) brought a delegation of chief executives and senior leaders from member companies to Washington, DC to meet with federal policymakers about the state of independent work, entrepreneurship and the direct selling industry. The meetings follow the US Department of Labor’s announcement of a proposed rule to clarify the classification of independent contractors.

The US Department of Labor under the Trump administration announced plans to repeal a ruling from 2024 that requires a company to treat workers as employees when they are “economically dependent” on the company for work.

Effective March 11, 2024, the US Department of Labor’s Final Rule, called the Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, is expected to create further limitations for millions of entrepreneurs classified as independent contractors.