HR 1319 United States House · 119th Congress

Modern Worker Empowerment Act

Summary
This bill specifies a legal standard for determining whether an individual is considered an independent contractor rather than an employee for the purposes of federal labor laws that address issues such as the federal minimum wage, overtime compensation, and collective bargaining. The rights and protections provided by these laws exclusively apply to employees. Under the bill, an individual is considered an independent contractor if (1) another individual or entity does not exercise significant control over the details of how the individual's work is performed, without regard to any control the other individual or entity may exercise over the final result of the work performed; and (2) while performing such work, the individual has opportunities and risks inherent with entrepreneurship (for example, the discretion to exercise professional judgment). The bill also sets forth factors that may not be used to determine whether an individual is an employee. Specifically, factors such as whether another individual or entity requires the individual to meet certain legal, health and safety, insurance, or performance requirements may not be used to make such a determination.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2025
Committee Review
Floor Vote
President
Introduced Feb 13, 2025 Last action Feb 20, 2026
Floor votes

How they voted

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Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
2
Committee
3
Feb 20, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Education and Workforce. H. Rept. 119-505.
lower
Jul 23, 2025
Lower · Passed
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Committee
Referred to the House Committee on Education and Workforce.
lower
Feb 13, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in House
lower
1 primary · 23 co-sponsors

Sponsors