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The DOL and Benefit Planning for Independent Contractors

By Lawrence L. Bell
November 01, 2022

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would make it more difficult for independent broker-dealers (IBDs), insurers, and other companies to treat professionals who want to flourish in the gig economy as independent contractors.

The proposal would require that workers be considered a company's employees, who are entitled to more benefits and legal protections than contractors, when they are "economically dependent" on the firm. The new rule, which will take at least several months to finalize, would replace a Trump-era regulation that says workers who own their own businesses or have the ability to work for competing companies can be treated as contractors.

Back in the 1990s, the independent broker-dealer healthcare and health insurance and health plans industry fought a similar battle with the Internal Revenue Service, and it eventually prevailed. Since then, a number of IBDs, hospital and healthcare programs have created hybrid programs

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