Acting Secretary of Labor Su’s nomination advanced to Senate floor

On February 27, the Senate HELP Committee voted 11 to 10 to move Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su’s nomination to be Secretary of Labor to the floor of the Senate for confirmation. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I.-VT) held the vote in a “closed door” meeting, infuriating Republican members who wanted the vote to be held in a public hearing. It’s currently unclear whether her nomination will be confirmed by the full Senate as a number of Senate Democrats—including Sen. Joe Manchin (D.-WV)—are either opposed or noncommittal on her nomination. Su’s unconfirmed status is being used to challenge the Department of Labor’s (DOL) new regulations such as its independent contractor rule and will likely be used against the expected overtime regulations as well.

Independent contractor rule becomes effective

On March 11, the Biden administration’s independent contractor rule went into effect. The new rule has a stricter six-factor approach than the earlier Trump administration rule. The new rule became effective after an earlier abortive attempt by the administration to void the Trump rule prior to its effective date. A federal district court reinstated the Trump rule in March 2022 after finding the Biden administration hadn’t properly rescinded the prior rule. The appeal of that decision was paused while Biden administration implemented the Trump rule and restarted its regulatory process.