H.R. 1319 — Modern Worker Empowerment Act

This section establishes the short title of the Act as the “Modern Worker Empowerment Act.”

This section revises the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 employee definition under 29 U.S.C. § 203(e) by adding a new paragraph (2) that requires an individual to be treated as an independent contractor, rather than an employee, if the hiring person does not exercise significant control over the details of how the work is performed and the individual bears the opportunities and risks of entrepreneurship, such as managerial skill, business acumen, or professional judgment. It also prohibits four factors from being used to find employee status: compliance with legal, statutory, or regulatory requirements; compliance with more stringent health and safety standards; carrying insurance; and meeting contractually agreed-upon performance standards, such as deadlines. The section redesignates the existing public-agency employee provisions from paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) to paragraphs (3), (4), and (5), and conforming language in paragraph (1) is updated accordingly.

This section revises the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) definition of “employee” under 29 U.S.C. § 152(3) by redesignating the existing text as subparagraph (A) and adding subparagraph (B) to require use of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 definition in 29 U.S.C. § 203(e)(2) to determine whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee of another person. (Thus, the provision ties NLRA worker-classification determinations to the Fair Labor Standards Act standard rather than leaving that question solely to NLRA interpretation.)

This section provides that the Act’s amendments apply to any determination of whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee that is made on or after the date of enactment of the Act.