The Trump Administration has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to postpone oral argument in a lawsuit challenging President Joe Biden’s 2024 independent contractor rule.

The U.S. Department of Justice filed a motion to pause oral argument in a legal challenge brought by trucking companies in order to give the incoming leadership at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) a chance to review the case and determine its next steps in the litigation. The appeals court granted the motion, tabling oral argument which had been scheduled for Feb. 5, 2025. (Frisard’s Transp., LLC v. United States DOL, No. 24-30223, Jan. 24, 2025).

The 2024 independent contractor rule, issued in January 2024, revised the DOL standard for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under the FLSA. The rule, which took effect March 11, 2024, formally adopted the six-factor “economic realities” test to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. The 2024 rule also formally rescinded a 2021 independent contractor rule issued during the waning days of the first Trump Administration, which was generally considered to be more favorable to businesses seeking to utilize an independent contractor model. (See Labor Department Releases Independent Contractor Final Rule, Revising Standard.)

The case now on hold at the Fifth Circuit is one of five lawsuits challenging the 2024 independent contractor rule. (See Independent Contractor Rule Takes Effect, But Legal Challenges Mount.) So far, the DOL has been successful in defending its rule, whether based on arguments that the plaintiffs lacked standing to sue or on the merits.

In the Frisard’s case, currently on interlocutory appeal, and the leading case, a federal court in Louisiana refused to issue a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction barring the DOL from enforcing the rule while the court considered the merits of the legal challenge. The federal court in New Mexico recently upheld the 2024 rule on the merits in another case, finding it was not arbitrary or capricious under the Administrative Procedures Act. Colt & Joe Trucking v. United States DOL, D.N.M., 2025 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4657, Jan. 9, 2025.

In two other suits, freelance writers and editors have filed complaints contending the 2024 rule jeopardizes their preferred legal status as independent contractors. A federal court in one case held the independent contractors lack standing to challenge the rule because they are not a party subject to the regulation. Warren v. United States DOL, N.D. Ga., No. 2:24-cv-7, Oct. 7, 2024. An appeal of that dismissal is pending in the Eleventh Circuit. In the other suit, a federal magistrate recommended dismissal for the same reason. The plaintiffs in that case have filed an objection to the magistrate judge’s recommendation. Littman v. United States DOL, M.D. Tenn., No. 3:24-cv-00194, Nov. 13, 2024.

Litigation is ongoing in a Texas federal court in a case brought by business groups. Coalition for Workforce Innovation v. Walsh, E.D. Tex., No. 1:21-cv-130. That lawsuit began as a challenge to President Biden’s decision to withdraw the 2021 independent contractor rule. The plaintiffs are now challenging the 2024 independent contractor rule as well. A motion to dismiss is pending.

The Fifth Circuit has asked the parties in the Frisard’s case to report on the status of the litigation by March 25, or earlier, if possible. The Eleventh Circuit in Warren has granted the DOL’s informal request to extend the deadline to respond to the freelancers’ appeal.

It is unlikely the DOL will continue to defend the underlying merits of the rule. The new administration will likely seek a stay of any further litigation in anticipation of further rulemaking rescinding the 2024 rule. The Trump Administration may then undertake new rulemaking to restore the 2021 rule or simply allow the courts to address the issue without agency regulations.