The misclassification of workers as independent contractors has been a prevalent labor issue in recent years. The US Labor Department recently stated that these misclassifications have denied many workers federal protections under the Fair Labor Standards Act and hurt the overall economy. To address this, the department has released a new proposal to assist employers and workers in more accurately determining employee status. However, if enacted, this rule would change much for gig companies such as Uber and Lyft.
See "US Dept of Labor proposes new rule to address worker misclassifications in the gig economy", Associated Press, NPR, October 11, 2022