By Tracy Judge, Founder & CEO, Soundings
Business events have always run on a blended workforce. Full-time teams, yes. But also the freelance planner brought in for peak season, the onsite registration crew, the production techs, the staff who show up before sunrise to set the room. That flexibility isn't a perk of our industry. It's how our industry works.
So the question of who counts as an employee and who counts as an independent contractor isn't a back-office HR detail. It's a business risk sitting inside almost every program we deliver.
That question is about to get a new federal answer. In February, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule that would rescind its 2024 independent contractor standard and replace it with a simpler test. As I write this, the final version has cleared White House review and is expected to publish soon.
Here's what's changing, what isn't, and what I'd want every event leader to do before it lands.
Two Factors Now Do Most of the Work
The 2024 rule weighed six factors equally, looking at the "totality of the circumstances." The new proposal brings back a framework close to the one the DOL adopted in 2021, and it puts most of the weight on two core questions.
Control: who decides how, when, and where the work gets done
Opportunity for profit or loss: whether the worker can make or lose money through their own initiative or investment
Three other factors still count: the skill the work requires, how permanent the relationship is, and whether the work is part of an integrated unit of production. The proposal also applies the same analysis to the Family and Medical Leave Act, not just the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The DOL's case is predictability. Wage and Hour Administrator Andrew Rogers said the change "would improve compliance, reduce misclassification, and reduce costly litigation."
If I could underline one line in the whole proposal, though, it's this one: the actual practice of the worker and the business matters more than what the contract says is possible. Your agreement can say "independent contractor" in bold. If you set their schedule, train them on your process, and supervise their shift, the paperwork won't save you.
Where It Stands Now
The public comment period closed April 28. The DOL sent its final rule to the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs on September 28, and OIRA concluded its review on October 28, clearing it with changes. That's the most common outcome of these reviews, but it does mean the final text may differ in some details from February's proposal.
Publication in the Federal Register is the last step, and the rule is expected to take effect about 60 days after that. As of this writing, it hasn't been published yet.
In practice, the DOL has already stopped applying the 2024 rule in its own investigations. So the federal posture has shifted even before the ink is dry.
Easier Is Not the Same as Easy
Here's where I'd urge caution. A simpler federal test does not mean classification just got simple for event organizations. Four reasons.
States still set their own bar. California's ABC test is far stricter, and states like Oregon and Washington have tougher standards too. Our events move across state lines constantly. The rules where the event happens are the rules you live by.
Courts aren't bound by it. The DOL rule governs the agency's own enforcement. Federal judges hearing a misclassification lawsuit apply their own circuit's case law, and after the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision, they have even more room to read the statute for themselves.
Other agencies use other definitions. This rule doesn't change how the IRS or the National Labor Relations Board decide who's a contractor.
The pendulum keeps swinging. This is the third federal standard in about five years: 2021, 2024, and now 2026. Supporters see this version as overdue clarity that protects independent work. Critics worry it makes it easier to move workers outside minimum wage and overtime protections. Wherever you land on that debate, the practical lesson is the same. Build a classification approach that holds up no matter which standard is in force.
What I'd Do Before the Rule Lands.
None of this requires waiting for the Federal Register. It's good workforce hygiene under any standard.
Inventory everyone who isn't on payroll. Freelance planners, onsite staff, production crews, speakers' support teams. You can't assess risk you haven't mapped.
Run each role through the two core factors, honestly. Who sets the hours, the dress code, the run of show? Can this person actually grow or lose money based on their own decisions, or do they just get paid for time?
Compare the contract to the reality. The onsite lead who's a "contractor" on paper but works every one of your programs, trains on your systems, and reports to your manager is exactly the profile regulators look for.
Watch for permanence. The freelancer who has worked your flagship event for six straight years is a relationship worth a second look.
Map classification by event location. If you're producing in California next spring, plan for California's rules, not the federal ones.
Bring in counsel before an audit, not after. A one-time review now costs far less than back wages, penalties, and litigation later.
Flexibility and Compliance Aren't Opposites
The events industry needs flexible talent. That isn't changing, no matter what the DOL publishes next. What separates the organizations that thrive from the ones that get caught off guard is whether that flexibility is designed on purpose or simply inherited.
The best workforce models I see start with the work, not the label. They decide which roles should be employees, which people are genuinely in business for themselves, and where a workforce partner is the right structure. Then they document why. That's the conversation we have with event organizations at Soundings every day, and it's one this rule makes more urgent, not less.
How is your team approaching classification ahead of the final rule? I'd love for you to share your questions, approaches, and lessons learned in the comments below – or check out our compliance resources.
This article is for general information and isn't legal advice. Talk with employment counsel about your specific situation.
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor · OIRA review record · Argentum · Jackson Lewis · Bloomberg Law
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In February, the U.S. Department of Labor proposed a rule that would rescind its 2024 independent contractor standard and replace it with a simpler test. The final version has cleared White House review and is expected to publish soon.