Direct Seller and Real Estate Agent Harmonization Act

HR3495 was placed on the Union Calendar on February 11, 2026, meaning it cleared the House Committee on Education and Workforce with a party-line vote (19-16) and is now awaiting floor scheduling. The bill has 31 Republican cosponsors; no Democratic support in a closely divided House means passage is not guaranteed but the Union Calendar placement signals leadership intends to bring it to a vote. The bill does not authorize or appropriate any direct spending — it is a pure regulatory relief measure. The mechanism is reclassification of two categories of workers as non-employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act, which removes employer obligations for minimum wage, overtime, and payroll taxes on those workers. The money trail is straightforward: every direct selling company and real estate brokerage that treats its representatives as independent contractors saves 7.65% of compensation in employer FICA taxes and eliminates exposure to FLSA collective actions. For eXp World Holdings ($EXPI), which operates with a fully commission-based agent model, this is a structural cost protection. For Herbalife ($HLF) and USANA ($USNA), the primary benefit is legal certainty — the direct selling industry has faced years of FTC and class-action litigation over distributor classification. Codifying non-employee status at the federal level preempts a major liability. On market data: $EXPI is trading at $6.56, up 9.52% over the past 30 days but still well below its 52-week high of $12.23. The 30-day move correlates with the bill's February Committee vote and subsequent Union Calendar placement — the market is pricing in some probability of passage but with skepticism given the partisan split. $HLF is at $16.63, up 15.41% over 30 days and nearly doubled from its 52-week low of $6.45 — strongest momentum of the three, reflecting both the bill and company-specific operational recovery. $USNA is at $19.52, up 15.37% over 30 days. The 7-day changes are all modest (0% to +0.79%), suggesting the immediate catalyst from the February actions has been absorbed. Timeline: The bill requires a House floor vote, then Senate passage. With no companion bill in the Senate yet and no Democratic support in committee, the path to law is uncertain. If the bill does not pass by the end of the 119th Congress (January 2027), it dies and must be reintroduced. The presidential actions provided — on domestic petroleum production and Air Force training operations — are unrelated to labor law and do not amplify or conflict with this bill.