Washington — In an effort backed by the American Trucking Associations to block the Biden Administration’s final rule on independent contractor classification, Representative Kevin Kiley (R-California) and Senator Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana) introduced a joint resolution of disapproval today.
“More than 350,000 truckers choose to work as independent contractors because of the economic opportunity it creates and the flexibility it provides, enabling them to run their own business and choose their own hours and routes. The Biden Administration’s IC rule eliminates this freedom and intentionally undermines the livelihoods of truckers and their families across the country by replacing a clear, straight-forward standard with a tangled mess that will weaken our supply chain,” said ATA President and CEO Chris Spear.
The trucking industry has relied on independent contractors since the inception of interstate trucking, and court decisions over the last nine decades have continually reaffirmed the legitimate role independent contractors play in the economy. That freedom of choice has been an enormous source of empowerment for women, minorities and immigrants pursuing the American Dream.
In 2021, DOL issued a rule supported by ATA clarifying the definition of employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act as it relates to independent contractors. The department’s new rule, which ATA has sharply criticized, replaces the 2021 standard with an opaque and deliberately confusing standard designed to fuel frivolous litigation and deny self-employed individuals the freedom of choice to work as independent contractors. This week, ATA joined a broad coalition of organizations in filing a lawsuit challenging the rule.
The rule was crafted under the leadership of Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su, who has repeatedly failed to recognize the importance of independent contractors and implemented California’s disastrous AB5 as the head of the state’s labor and workforce development agency. The ATA remains staunchly opposed to Su’s nomination to serve as secretary of labor.
“Had Julie Su actually spoken with drivers – not just big labor bosses – she would know this firsthand,” Spear said. “The ATA stands firmly behind Representative Kiley and Senator Cassidy's effort to defeat this ill-advised rule, and we will continue to work alongside them and other Members of Congress to protect Americans’ right to earn a living in the way that they choose.”