On July 15, 2015 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued an Administrator Interpretation aimed at eradicating what the DOL perceives as widespread improper misclassification of \u201cemployees\u201d as \u201cindependent contractors\u201d in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to the DOL, misclassifying workers as independent contractors results in workers being deprived of important protections such as minimum wage, overtime compensation, unemployment insurance and workers compensation benefits available to employees. The DOL also pointed to the loss in payroll tax revenues to the government and the intentional misclassification by some employers to cut costs and avoid compliance with labor laws. Citing the \u201ceconomic realities test\u201d used by the courts to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the FLSA, the DOL declared that \u201cin view of the expansive definition of \u2018employ\u2019 under the Act, most workers are employers under the FLSA.\u201d<\/p>\n
The DOL\u2019s expansive interpretation \u201cemploy\u201d under the FLSA:<\/u><\/strong> The FLSA simply defines \u201cemploy\u201d as \u201cto suffer or permit to work.\u201d Historically, the multi-factored \u201ceconomic realities test\u201d has been applied to determine whether an employer \u201csuffers or permits\u201d an individual to work within the meaning of the FLSA. The economic realities test considers whether:<\/p>\n\n