FSI Resumes Legal Fight Over DOL Independent Contractor Rule

With a new court filing, the Financial Services Institute and other groups have renewed their fight against the Labor Department’s independent contractor rule, which the department finalized Jan. 9.

The final rule defines whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. FSI has warned that the rule could threaten advisors’ status as independent contractors.

In 2021, under the Trump administration, the Labor Department streamlined the independent contractor rule. FSI has said it prefers this version of the rule “because of the clarity and security it provided independent advisors regarding their independent contractor status.”

The Biden Labor Department in 2022 proposed a new version of the rule. DOL officials say this version strengthens worker protections and is truer to the intent of the FLSA. Trade groups including FSI have been fighting the rule in court, arguing the department did not follow the law in rescinding the 2021 rule.

On Friday, FSI, along with the Coalition for Workforce Innovation, Associated Builders and Contractors, and Associated Builders and Contractors of Southeast Texas filed a motion for remand in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, resuming the court battle, which was halted in June 2022 as the Labor Department requested a stay of appeal to work on the rule.