# 119-hr-1319: Modern Worker Empowerment Act

119-hr-1319, Modern Worker Empowerment Act, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Kiley, Kevin [I-CA-3] (I-CA); status in_committee; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-06-13).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1319
- As of: 2026-06-13
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-1319
- Congress: 119
- Title: Modern Worker Empowerment Act
- Status: in_committee
- Introduced: 2025-02-13
- Sponsor: Rep. Kiley, Kevin [I-CA-3] (I-CA)
- Cosponsors: 23
- Policy area: Labor and Employment
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-06-13

## Summary

**Creates a single, objective test for independent-contractor status that centers on control over work details and entrepreneurial risk.** It applies that Fair Labor Standards Act test to labor-law classifications and narrows which factors may be used to label someone an employee. - Workers: Classification turns on whether the hiring party controls how work is done and whether the worker faces entrepreneurship risks like managerial discretion or business risk. The bill bars using legal compliance, stricter health and safety rules, insurance requirements, or contractual performance standards (such as deadlines) to classify someone as an employee. - Employers: Gives employers an explicit FLSA-based standard to follow when deciding who is a contractor. The rule applies to determinations made on or after enactment. - Unions and collective bargaining: Requires the National Labor Relations Act to use the same FLSA standard when deciding who counts as an employee for union rights and collective-bargaining purposes.

## Cosponsors (23)

- Rep. Rutherford, John H. [R-FL-5] (R-FL), 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Moolenaar, John R. [R-MI-2] (R-MI), 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Messmer, Mark B. [R-IN-8] (R-IN), 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Ogles, Andrew [R-TN-5] (R-TN), 2025-02-13T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Kean, Thomas H. [R-NJ-7] (R-NJ), 2025-03-25T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Grothman, Glenn [R-WI-6] (R-WI), 2025-03-31T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Stefanik, Elise M. [R-NY-21] (R-NY), 2025-04-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burlison, Eric [R-MO-7] (R-MO), 2025-04-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Allen, Rick W. [R-GA-12] (R-GA), 2025-06-03T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Owens, Burgess [R-UT-4] (R-UT), 2025-06-04T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Onder, Robert F. [R-MO-3] (R-MO), 2025-06-11T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Baumgartner, Michael [R-WA-5] (R-WA), 2025-06-12T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Burchett, Tim [R-TN-2] (R-TN), 2025-06-26T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Miller, Mary E. [R-IL-15] (R-IL), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Letlow, Julia [R-LA-5] (R-LA), 2025-07-21T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Carter, Earl L. "Buddy" [R-GA-1] (R-GA), 2025-10-08T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. [R-TX-19] (R-TX), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Steube, W. Gregory [R-FL-17] (R-FL), 2025-10-24T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Gill, Brandon [R-TX-26] (R-TX), 2025-11-07T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Murphy, Gregory F. [R-NC-3] (R-NC), 2025-11-17T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Donalds, Byron [R-FL-19] (R-FL), 2025-12-18T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Babin, Brian [R-TX-36] (R-TX), 2025-12-23T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Foxx, Virginia [R-NC-5] (R-NC), 2026-02-02T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- New test for contractor status: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would add a two-part test to decide who is an independent contractor. An individual would be an independent contractor if the hiring party does not exercise significant control over how work is done and if the worker faces entrepreneurship-style opportunities and risks. The bil…
- Use FLSA test for union rules: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would require the National Labor Relations Act to use the FLSA's new independent contractor test when deciding NLRA coverage. This would make the same two-part FLSA standard control future NLRA decisions about who is an employee. The change would apply to NLRA determinations ma…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-703: Main Street Tax Certainty Act
- 119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act
- 119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act
- 119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act
- 119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025
- 119-hr-5267: American Franchise Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-1319 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1319)

## Related
- [119-hr-703: Main Street Tax Certainty Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-703)
- [119-hr-1301: Death Tax Repeal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1301)
- [119-hr-425: Repealing Big Brother Overreach Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-425)
- [119-hr-1628: 761st Tank Battalion Congressional Gold Medal Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1628)
- [119-hr-38: Constitutional Concealed Carry Reciprocity Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-38)
- [119-hr-5267: American Franchise Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-5267)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1319 (as of 2026-06-13).