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Congress has a chance to unshackle independent contractors

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16.10.2025

As shutdown politics freeze Washington, a piece of legislation awaits what should be easy bipartisan support to permanently scrap a Biden-era regulation that created a legal nightmare for America’s 72 million independent workers.

On July 23, the House Education and Workforce Committee advanced the Modern Worker Empowerment Act. The bill provides independent contractors the freedom to truly achieve the American Dream of entrepreneurship, freeing them from a 2024 Biden administration regulation that created a complex and nightmarish six-factor “economic realities” test that has caused confusion for employers and contractors alike.

Overnight, workers who had chosen independence were told they might be out of business. Companies relying on independent professionals suddenly had no idea if they were in compliance with federal labor law or not, and longstanding business relationships now risked incurring lawsuits and penalties. And, as always happens when confusion reigns, entrepreneurs and their customers lost out.

Many companies had no choice but to risk their valuable time and money by suing the federal government. Cully Frisard of Gramercy, La., was one such small business owner. A second-generation owner of Frisard Trucking, he found himself square in the middle of the Department of Labor’s........

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