If your numbers aren’t clear, it’s hard to make good decisions about where to go from here.

Side hustles can be financially rewarding and even personally fulfilling. But they shift you from employee to business owner in the eyes of the tax code, even if it’s just nights and weekends.

The DOL applies the "economic realities" test to assess economic dependence under the FLSA.  It emphasizes that workers who are dependent on the employer are employees, entitled to minimum wage and overtime; those in business for themselves are independent contractors.