Emily Everden

On April 28, 2025, President Donald Trump published an executive order (“EO”) requiring the secretary of transportation to overhaul the compliance process of certifying a commercial driver’s English proficiency.

As set forth in 49 C.F.R. § 391.11(b)(2), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require a driver operating a commercial motor vehicle to “read and speak the English language sufficiently to converse with the general public, to understand highway traffic signs and signals in the English language, to respond to official inquiries, and to make entries on reports and records.” This change has many implications for the transportation industry.

On January 10, 2024 the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) published a final rule (29 CFR 795) revising the DOL’s guidance on how to analyze who is an employee or independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The determination of who qualifies as an independent contractor within FLSA will be based on a six-factor economic reality test, with “economic dependence” being the “ultimate inquiry for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.