Bills of interest to trucking businesses pass committees

A pair of bills of interest to trucking businesses advanced through committees on Thursday, March 21.

A resolution to rescind the U.S. Department of Labor’s worker classification rule passed through the House Committee on Education and Workforce, and the Prove It Act passed through the House Judiciary Committee.

Worker classification

In January, the Department of Labor released a 339-page final rule with the stated purpose of preventing companies from misclassifying workers as independent contractors. The action, which officially took effect on March 11, rescinds a former President Donald Trump-era rule that focused on control and profit and replaces it with a “totality of circumstances” test.

Earlier this month, Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Calif., introduced a Congressional Review Act resolution that would void the DOL’s current worker classification rule and return to the Trump-era rule. Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., also introduced a similar resolution in the Senate. Kiley and Cassidy contend that the Biden administration rule “jeopardizes 27 million workers’ ability to make their own hours and make a living with being pressured into joining a union.”

The House bill now has 65 co-sponsors, and the Senate version has 33.

Prove it Act

In February, Rep. Brad Finstad, R-Minn., introduced the Prove It Act, a bill aimed at protecting small businesses from burdensome regulations.

HR71988 would force federal agencies to consider how regulations would affect small businesses.

“Small businesses in southern Minnesota are being crushed by burdensome federal government regulations,” Finstad said in a news release. “The Prove It Act would give small businesses a seat at the table during the regulatory process by requiring government agencies to assess and limit the direct and indirect costs of their rules and regulations.”

The bipartisan effort now has four co-sponsors, including Reps. Yadira Caraveo, D-Colo.; Nathaniel Moran, R-Texas; and Harriet Hageman, R-Wyo.

Although the bill applies to all industries, it is especially significant to trucking, as the majority of trucks are operated by small motor carriers.

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, which represents small-business truckers, supports the Prove It Act.

“Not only are small businesses the backbone of America’s economy; they’re the backbone of America’s supply chain,” OOIDA President Todd Spencer said. “Over 70% of American freight is transported exclusively by truck, and 96% of trucking is made up of small-business carriers. OOIDA and the 150,000 small-business truckers we represent support the bipartisan Prove It Act to keep government overreach and burdensome overregulation off of the backs of the men and women behind the wheel who keep our economy moving.” LL