DOL’s Wage and Hour Division Includes 8 Proposed Rules on 2026 Agency Rules List

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Quick Hits

• The DOL’s 2026 agency rule list includes eight WHD proposed rules covering tipped employees, young workers, independent contractor classification, and joint employer status, combining both newly announced and previously proposed measures.
• Among the newly announced items, the WHD is considering revised tip regulations that may align with the IRS’s recent “No Tax on Tips” rules, along with updated hour restrictions for workers aged fourteen and fifteen.
• The previously announced items would replace the 2024 independent contractor rule with a version resembling the 2021 rule and would restore 2021 style joint employer guidance, while employers are reminded that more protective state wage and hour laws still take precedence over these federal rules.

The previously announced items would replace the 2024 independent contractor rule with a version resembling the 2021 rule and would restore 2021 style joint employer guidance, while employers are reminded that more protective state wage and hour laws still take precedence over these federal rules.

The agency rule list is a list of proposed and developing regulations that the DOL plans to issue or review. It includes new standards, updates to existing workplace laws, and guidance. The list is part of the broader Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions published by the White House Office of Management and Budget.

The 2026 agency rule list includes eight WHD rules, some of which were already announced and some of which are new:

DOL/WHD	Proposed Rule Stage	Employee or Independent Contractor Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act	1235-AA46
DOL/WHD	Proposed Rule Stage	Joint Employer Status Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act	1235-AA48
DOL/WHD	Proposed Rule Stage	Hours of Work Standards for Young Workers Under the Fair Labor Standards Act	1235-AA53
DOL/WHD	Proposed Rule Stage	Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)	1235-AA54
DOL/WHD	Final Rule Stage	Increasing the Minimum Wage for Federal Contractors; Rescission of Regulations	1235-AA49
DOL/WHD	Final Rule Stage	Rescission of Coordinated Enforcement Regulations	1235-AA50
DOL/WHD	Final Rule Stage	Application of the Fair Labor Standards Act to Domestic Service	1235-AA51
DOL/WHD	Final Rule Stage	Statements of General Policy or Interpretation Not Directly Related to Regulations	1235-AA52

WHD’s Notable Newly Announced Proposed Rules

Tip Regulations

With the “Tip Regulations Under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” the DOL is considering a notice of proposed rulemaking to amend regulatory provisions related to tipped employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). This is not surprising given the significant updates in laws affecting tipped employees, including the reinstated 1967 dual-jobs regulation after the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling in Restaurant Law Center v. U.S. Department of Labor.

The administration may also be considering updating who is considered a tipped employee with more practical definitions to reflect the expansion of industries that allow customers to leave tips, and in turn, qualify more jobs that historically may not have been considered “customarily and regularly tipped” employees. Earlier this year, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) finalized regulations allowing eligible workers in more than seventy qualifying occupations that “customarily and regularly receive tips” to take a deduction for qualified tips pursuant to the “No Tax on Tips” deduction, which was passed as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBB Act). It is possible the rule aims to harmonize the IRS regulations with the department’s rule. Employers should be on the lookout for this rule sometime in August.

Young Workers

The WHD’s initiative related to the proposed rule on “Hours of Work Standards for Young Workers Under the Fair Labor Standards Act” does not contain much detail other than stating the WHD is considering an update to permissible hours of work for fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds. Currently, the permissible work hour parameters for fourteen- and fifteen-year olds are as follows: outside school hours; no more than three hours on a school day, including Fridays; no more than eight hours on a nonschool day; no more than eighteen hours during a week when school is in session; no more than forty hours during a week when school is not in session; and between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.—except between June 1 and Labor day when the evening hour is extended to 9 p.m. The department indicates we can expect to see the proposed rule in September.

Employers in recent years have been reluctant to hire fourteen- and fifteen-year-olds because of the strict work parameters combined with the fact that the DOL has aggressively pursued violations of child labor laws with severe penalties.

WHD’s Notable Previously Announced Rules

Independent Contractor Classification

The abstract for this agenda item notes that the 2024 independent contractor rule has been subject to legal challenges. The DOL is seeking to rescind the 2024 rule and replace it with a modified version of the 2021 independent contractor rule issued during the first Trump administration. Relatedly, the DOL is seeking to update regulations that would make clear the analysis for determining independent contractor status under the FLSA applies to the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (MSPA).

Joint Employer Status

The DOL indicated that it is considering a notice of proposed rulemaking to provide interpretive guidance on FLSA joint employer liability commensurate with the 2021 joint employer rule. The department will also amend its regulations to advise that the FLSA joint employer analysis applies to the FMLA and MSPA as well.

Remember the Interplay With State Laws

States that have more protective wage and hour laws or regulations will trump the department’s rules.

Ogletree Deakins’ Wage and Hour Practice Group will continue to monitor developments and will post updates on the Wage and Hour blog as additional information becomes available.