Chicago Business Litigation Lawyer Blog
The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) is a federal law that provides various protections for workers in the United States who would otherwise be vulnerable to exploitation by their employers. In order to accomplish this, the FLSA regulates things like minimum wage and overtime, but not everyone is entitled to these protections.
Under the FLSA, independent contractors (those who are self-employed) are exempt from many of these protections. This is because the law assumes independent contractors have greater leverage when negotiating how and when they get paid.
Because they are largely unprotected, the FLSA provides specific requirements workers must fulfill in order to be considered independent contractors. These include the ability to make their own hours, control the environment they work in and decide what they wear to work. Continue reading ›