The U.S. Department of Labor issued a business-friendly opinion Monday for the gig economy industry, telling one unidentified “virtual marketplace” employer that its workers are properly classified as independent contractors, not employees.

In a 10-page opinion letter dated April 29, Keith Sonderling, the acting administrator of the Labor Department's wage and hour division, tells the representative of an unnamed online platform that based on a six-factor test, “we conclude that your client's service providers are independent contractors, not employees of your client.”

“The facts in your letter demonstrate economic independence, rather than economic dependence, in the working relationship between your client and its service providers,” Sonderling wrote.