Direct Seller and Real Estate Agent Harmonization Act

This bill changes federal wage-and-hour law to say that direct sellers and qualified real estate agents are not considered “employees” under the Fair Labor Standards Act. It uses the same definitions for these jobs that appear in the tax code (section 3508(b)).

In everyday terms, people in these roles would be treated like independent contractors under federal minimum wage and overtime rules, not as employees. That means the usual wage and overtime protections of the Fair Labor Standards Act would not apply to them.

Key points

• Who is affected: Direct sellers and qualified real estate agents, as defined in the tax code.
• What changes: They would be excluded from the federal definition of “employee” for wage-and-hour purposes.
• What it means: Federal minimum wage and overtime rules would not cover these workers; they would be treated as non-employees under that law.