While the 2024 election cycle grabbed most of the headlines in 2024, many good and bad policies slipped under the radar.
From labor to tech to antitrust, policymakers in both Washington and state capitols have been busy. Some of their work will free American workers to pursue their dreams; others will snag small businesses in costly and growth-limiting red tape.
At IWF’s Center for Economic Opportunity, we’ve assembled what we consider to be the best and worst labor, economic, and tech policies of 2024.
The Top 5 Best Policies
- Death of Chevron Deference – In one of the most consequential Supreme Court decisions of recent history, SCOTUS struck a death blow to what is known as Chevron deference, or the authority for federal agencies to enact policies that Congress never envisioned. As our colleague Gabriella Hoffman explained, “The Chevron doctrine says, ‘courts should defer to a federal agency’s interpretation of an ambiguous statute as long as that interpretation is reasonable.’”
For forty years, federal agencies pursued aggressive and sweeping policies through rulemaking that exceeded their authority. From energy to the environment to labor policies and many more, federal agencies have had free rein. Independent Women’s Law Center (IWLC) joined 38 groups in filing amicus briefs in support of one of the cases challenging Chevron deference, arguing that federal agencies “promulgate jaw-dropping regulations that make significant demands of the American people.”
The massive impact of this SCOTUS decision cannot be understated. As the American Bar Association noted, it has “an immediate and lasting impact on executive agency interpretations of ambiguous federal statutes, as well as potentially on hundreds, if not thousands, of prior decisions decided on Chevron deference grounds—and the future of the administrative state in America.” - Portable Benefits for Gig Workers – Several states expanded access to portable benefits for gig workers and independent contractors broadly. Utah pioneered a first-of-its-kind public-private effort to reduce the regulatory barriers for companies to offer portable benefits to their independent workforce without triggering a reclassification of those workers as employees.
This is a huge win for independent contractors who do not want to be employees of their clients but still desire benefits such as health care and paid leave. We expect other states to follow suit as they look for ways to meet the needs of their independent workforces. For more background on portable benefits, read our policy focus or takeaways. - Flexibility Expanded for (Female) Lawyers – The Supreme Court of Tennessee removed its full-time work requirement for attorney admission without examination. The Network of Enlightened Women’s Network led a coalition of groups, including IWF, in pursuing this regulatory change that has a particular impact on working mothers. Not every woman wants to work a full-time job, but many desire to remain in their profession while they balance other priorities such as caregiving. This regulation was an example of a counterproductive occupational licensing requirement that served no purpose in improving the legal field.
- SEC-Nasdaq Diversity Quotas Halted – In another sign of the end of the woke crusade in corporate America, a U.S. appeals court struck down diversity mandates by the NASDAQ for public companies. The rules pressured listed companies to disclose the “diversity” of their boards by race, gender, and sexual orientation and compelled companies that failed to employ at least two “diverse” directors to explain publicly why. The Securities and Exchange Commission approved these rules in 2021.
Diversity is viewed as an end in itself rather than as a means to better outcomes. Companies should have the choice to decide their board composition; they should not be compelled by the government.
The Court saw through the veiled disclosure attempt for what it was: “a public-shaming penalty” for a corporation’s failure to fall in line. DEI in corporate America has been receding over the past few years—a positive and welcome trend. This NASDAQ-SEC board diversity effort is another DEI domino to fall. - Interest Rate Cuts – The Federal Reserve broke free of its holding pattern on interest rates and began to cut them to avoid economic decline. The Fed raised rates at least a dozen times to tamp down on inflation, and while the inflation rate has come down from its 2022 highs, it still has not bottomed out at the Fed’s target rates of 2%. Concerningly, it has accelerated for two months straight following steady declines. Meanwhile, consumers are battling higher borrowing costs and interest rates on auto loans, credit cards, and other debt because of high interest rates. The recent Fed cuts should provide some relief—eventually.
The Top 5 Worst Policies
- Independent Contracting Rule – The Biden administration enacted a counterproductive new regulation that stands to rob women of the flexible opportunities on which they depend. The Department of Labor finalized its rule to determine who can be classified as an independent contractor under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. The new rule utilizes a six-factor test to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor—a more stringent standard than what is currently in place.
This rule, if enforced, could be devastating for many of the millions of people who are self-employed, freelancers, gig workers, or have side hustles earning 1099 income. Small businesses that depend on independent contractors may be forced to hire these individuals and abide by wage and benefit laws, which would dramatically increase costs for their business.
Congress failed to overturn the rule this summer, and it is now in effect. We hope the next administration will make it a priority to overturn the rule. - Overtime Rule – The Biden administration sought to expand the number of Americans who qualify for overtime by raising the income threshold. Never mind that the previous two administrations already did so. This would have increased labor costs and red tape for small businesses that have battled years of inflation, rising labor costs, and high interest rates on debt.
Thankfully, in November of 2024, a federal court slapped down this rule as regulatory overreach with no care for the impact on small businesses. As we noted, this rule would have pushed them, especially women-owned businesses, to the brink. - Joint Employer (Franchising) Rule – The Biden administration withdrew its final joint employer rule after being struck down by a federal court and voted down by a bipartisan majority in Congress.
The rule changed the definition of which companies are joint employers, making larger companies (such as franchisors) responsible for the actions and operations of smaller companies such as franchisees and independent contractors. Such sweeping changes would have increased costs, regulatory burdens, and legal exposure for companies. The franchisee model, popular with women and minorities, would likely have collapsed.
IWF was proud to oppose this rule—we were even cited in the final rule—as it would have dealt a massive blow to entrepreneurship and small businesses in America. - Google’s Breakup—Federal antitrust regulators are on the verge of breaking up Google after winning a victory in federal court. This summer, after a federal court labeled the tech giant “a monopoly” in the search engine market and invited the federal government to propose plans for how Google could be chopped up and lucrative parts of the business sold off.
It’s questionable whether Google truly monopolizes the search industry, but more concerning are the unintended consequences of the federal government’s proposed remedies. These remedies could lead to less secure and private searches as well as hampering innovation. We have to watch how this plays out in 2025. - Fighting Junk Fees – The congressional and regulatory campaign against junk fees was meant to combat costs for Americans. But let’s be real: Americans’ pockets weren’t stretched because of $3 swipe fees or $30 overdraft fees, but 20% higher prices on all goods since Biden took office and interest rates that tripled or more.
Even if ending junk fees sounds like relief, consumers stand to lose out on other popular and needed banking and credit card perks. Capping overdrafts and late fees would drive up banking costs for a number of free services, such as checking accounts and wealth-management tools. Changes to credit card processing in the Durban-Marshall Credit Card Competition Act would also harm consumers by reducing the availability of credit, especially to some borrowers and small businesses, as well as leading to the end of credit card rewards programs. We hope the next Congress and administration will pump the brakes on this policy.
Missed Opportunities
And there were missed opportunities for Congress to enact policies that would deliver relief or increase economic certainty. For example, Congress needed to kill the Venmo tax (i.e., the 1099-K reporting requirement change) implemented by a Democratic-led Congress to fund President Biden’s inflationary American Rescue Plan.
This rule lowered the threshold for how much one could sell or send online using websites and apps such as Venmo, PayPal, Poshmark, Etsy, and eBay before the income needed to be reported. They lowered it to just $600 per year, which can easily be surpassed and would push millions of Americans into reporting as income transactions that they previously did not have to even if those transactions aren’t taxable.
This move was meant to raise new revenue, but neither taxpayers nor the IRS was ready to handle the avalanche of new reporting. The IRS arbitrarily delayed this rule once again, but Congress needs to fix this issue once and for all.
Bottom Line
We look forward to a new Congress, White House, legislatures, and governorships all led by conservatives. We hope the next two to four years will bring two things: First, an extraordinary unwinding of onerous and harmful policies; and second, the unleashing of pro-growth, pro-free enterprise policies that bring down costs and empower individuals and businesses to thrive.