Modern Worker Empowerment Act

The Modern Worker Empowerment Act (S. 2228), introduced in the 119th Congress by Senator Scott of South Carolina, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) to align the definition of “employee” with the usual common law rules used by courts to determine employee status. Specifically, it would insert language stating that the definition of “employee” is to be determined under common law rules, and it would modify the definition of “employ” to specify that the act applies to “an employee” when permitting work. In short, the bill seeks to tie FLSA coverage more directly to how courts analyze who is an employee under traditional/common law standards, rather than relying solely on rigid statutory labels. The intended effect is to harmonize wage-and-hour protections with the way employee status is determined in practice by courts. Depending on how the common law tests are applied, this could broaden or narrow who is covered by minimum wage and overtime requirements in various workplaces, particularly in contexts like independent contractor arrangements and gig-economy work. The change would not by itself create new protections but would clarify the basis for determining who is legally an employee under the FLSA.