Protecting Independent Contractors from Discrimination Act of 2026
Sponsored By: Representative Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
Introduced
Summary
Treats independent contractors as employees for enforcement of six major civil rights and labor laws. This change would extend protections under Title VII, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Rehabilitation Act, and the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act to individuals who provide work under independent-contract terms.
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- Independent contractors: Would gain the same anti-discrimination, disability, and genetic-information protections that employees have under these six statutes.
- Employers: Would face the same legal prohibitions and potential remedies in those statutes when they work with independent contractors as when they work with employees.
- Enforcement and funding: Enforcement would rely on existing channels such as the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and related processes, and the bill does not create new agencies or add funding.
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Bill Overview
Analyzed Economic Effects
1 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 0 costs, 0 mixed.
Protect independent contractors from discrimination
If enacted, this bill would treat people who work under an independent contract as employees for six federal workplace laws. It would add independent contractors to Title VII, ADEA, the ADA, the FLSA (section 6(d)), the Rehabilitation Act, and GINA. Independent contractors would be able to bring discrimination, disability, age, pay, and genetic-information claims. They would use existing enforcement processes like the EEOC. Employers could face expanded liability and compliance obligations.
Sponsors & CoSponsors
Sponsor
Norton, Eleanor Holmes [D-DC-At Large]
DC • D
Cosponsors
There are no cosponsors for this bill.
Roll Call Votes
No roll call votes available for this bill.
View on Congress.gov