The 21st Century Worker Act establishes new federal rules for classifying workers as independent contractors rather than employees. Under the bill, workers automatically qualify as independent contractors if they meet any one of six criteria, including holding a licensed profession with public advertising, operating as a business entity, working for a single client for fewer than 30 days per quarter, engaging in direct sales, or meeting other specific contractual and business requirements. The bill also updates federal tax law to align the Internal Revenue Code's definitions of "employee" and "employer" with these new classifications, taking effect for tax years beginning after enactment. Additionally, the bill requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct a two-year study examining how 25 major federal laws—ranging from civil rights and labor protections to workplace safety and health insurance—currently define these terms, and to report how standardizing definitions across all federal laws would affect each statute.
Take Action
Your position
Add a comment
to comment on this bill.
Annotate the text
Highlight any passage on the Summary or Full Text tab to attach a note. Annotations appear on the Annotations tab.