WASHINGTON — Labor secretary nominee Julie Su won praise at her Senate hearing April 20 as “a champion of the working class” even as some key Democrats were unwilling to voice support.

App-based ride-hailing and delivery companies like Uber and Lyft can continue to treat their California drivers as independent contractors, a state appeals court ruled March 13.

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed a rule that would set multi-factor standards for what constitutes an independent contractor.

A Massachusetts ballot initiative bankrolled by Uber Technologies Inc., Lyft Inc., and DoorDash Inc. to cement their workers’ status as independent contractors will not move forward, the state’s Supreme Judicial Court ruled.

The California Trucking Association is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review a state independent contractor law — known as AB 5 — that it argues should be exempt from enforcement for motor carriers based on federal pre-emption.

Freight stakeholders are voicing opposition to a bill currently being debated in the U.S. Senate that aims to make changes to federal classification for workers.

The U.S. Department of Labor has announced the withdrawal of a federal regulation for classification of independent contractors that the agency earlier said would “promote certainty” for the trucking industry’s use of contractors, but which it now maintains would introduce “substantial confusion and uncertainty on the topic.”

The U.S. Department of Labor has proposed withdrawing a rule adopted in the waning days of the Trump administration that was generally perceived to be favorable to motor carriers’ use of independent contractors.

The California Supreme Court rejected a lawsuit Feb. 3 that sought to overturn a ballot measure that makes app-based ride-hailing and delivery drivers independent contractors instead of employees eligible for benefits and job protections.

The U.S. Department of Labor on Jan. 6 issued a final rule revising its interpretation of independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act that it said will “promote certainty for stakeholders, reduce litigation and encourage innovation in the economy.”