Advocacy in action blog

NAIFA Senior Vice President Diane Boyle and Government Relations Director Michael Hedge spend part of their week keeping insurance and financial professionals up-to-date with the latest information on the PRO Act, where it stands, and how it could impact advisors.

Tuesday, March 23, at 11 am eastern

NAIFA Director of Government Relations Mike Hedge recently spoke with David Duford of Duford Insurance Group about the potential implications of the PRO Act for insurance and financial professionals. Hedge discusses how the PRO Act could disrupt the business relationships between producers and companies and harm the ability of agents and advisors to serve consumers. He also talks about the work NAIFA is doing to head off provisions of the PRO Act that would “revolutionize the industry for the wrong reasons.” The interview is featured on Duford’s popular YouTube channel.

The House of Representatives passed the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 842), a sweeping piece of labor legislation. Among its provisions, the PRO Act as passed by the House would reclassify many insurance and financial professionals as “employees” rather than “independent contractors” under federal labor law. NAIFA argues that such a reclassification will disrupt insurance and financial services business models and limit consumer access to diverse offerings of products, services, and advice.

NAIFA CEO Kevin Mayeux and the CEOs of 13 other insurance and financial services trade associations sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urging Congress to address concerns with the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act (H.R. 842).

The U.S. House of Representatives is currently considering introduction of the Protecting the Right to Organize Act (PRO Act) along mostly party lines, likely in April 2021. This wide-reaching bill seeks to reform current labor law in a variety of areas. Impacting the insurance industry, the bill amends the National Labor Relations Act (29 U.S.C. 152(3)) by adding language that expands the definition of “independent contractor” by adopting an “ABC” test to define who is an “employee.”

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced today a final rule clarifying the standard for employee- versus independent contractor-status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). NAIFA has worked closely with DOL to ensure an equitable rule that considers the needs of the insurance industry. NAIFA submitted comments on DOL’s rulemaking on October 26, 2020.

On October 26, NAIFA filed comments on the Department of Labor’s (DOL) proposed interpretation dictating which workers can qualify for independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). NAIFA supports DOL’s efforts to formalize existing interpretations, provide greater certainty for the regulated community, and promote opportunities for creating innovative work arrangements.