DOL Moves to Pause Gig Worker Lawsuits, Cancel Biden Regulation

The Trump administration asked several federal courts to freeze challenges to a US Department of Labor rule on independent contractor status while the agency “reconsiders” the policy, the first step in unwinding the closely-watched Biden-era gig economy rule.

In filings in both the Fifth and Eleventh Circuit Courts of Appeals, attorneys representing the DOL asked the courts to hold the cases in abeyance “because the agency’s reconsideration and potential rescission of the rule may obviate the need for further litigation.”

The DOL informed the businesses and freelancers suing over the rule that it “intends to reconsider” the 2024 rule that generally makes it harder for companies to enter into contractor relationships, “including whether to issue a notice of proposed rulemaking rescinding the regulation,” according to the status report filed by the government in the Fifth Circuit case.

The Fifth Circuit granted the request Tuesday, and briefing on the matter is still ongoing in the Eleventh Circuit.

Another challenge against the rule brought by the Coalition for Workforce Innovation, which counts rideshare companies Uber and Lyft among its members, in the Eastern District of Texas was also stayed by a district court judge late last month, pending an update to the court from the DOL in a hearing scheduled for April 14.

The filings show the Trump administration plans to cancel the Biden-era rule, which could affect nearly every facet of the US economy. While independent contractors are largely associated with the on-demand gig economy, these arrangements also dominate the construction, trucking, and financial service industries.

There are currently five pending lawsuits against the DOL’s 2024 worker classification rule, which changed how the agency determines whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. Workers who are considered employees are owed the minimum wage, overtime pay, and other protections under the law, while independent contractors are not.

The Biden-era rule expanded the factors reviewed by the agency that could indicate employee status, a change that created more legal liability for companies that utilize independent contractors.

While the previous administration argued that the rule wouldn’t lead to widespread changes in independent contractor arrangements, and was necessary to combat worker misclassification, businesses and freelancers said the rule went too far, and would chill their business opportunities.

But so far the lawsuits have been unsuccessful in convincing federal courts to block the rule.

The other cases filed against the Biden independent contractor standard are pending in the Eleventh and Sixth Circuits.

The Trump administration said in its filing before the Fifth and Eleventh Circuits that it plans to request a litigation pause in those cases as well.

“The government expects to request similar abeyances in other related challenges to the rule at issue in order to permit the Department of Labor sufficient time to complete the process of reconsidering the regulation,” the DOL said in an April 7 status report.

The cases are:

Frisard’s Transportation, L.L.C. v. DOL, 5th Cir., No. 24-30223, directive issued placing case in abeyance on 4/8/25, Warren v. DOL, 11th Cir., No. 24-13505, motion to hold case in abeyance filed on 4/4/25, Colt & Joe Trucking LLC v. DOL, 10th Cir., No. 25-02022, Littman v. US DOL, M.D. Tenn., No. 24-00194, appeal filed on 4/8/25, and Coalition for Workforce Innovation v. Walsh, E.D. Tex., No. 21-00130, administratively closed on 3/28/25.