Misclassifying an independent contractor can prove costly — for example, FedEx recently agreed to settle a misclassification suit for $228 million. On the other hand, properly classifying a worker isn’t always easy; laws and regulations are complex and differ by location.

But MBO Partners believes it has a solution in the form of a new “certified self-employed” designation for independent contractors.

The designation would provide a safe harbor for firms that engage independent contractors. At the same time, it would work to protect workers and let bona fide independent contractors work in the style in which they prefer.

MBO formally proposed the idea today in an effort to get the word out. The next step would be to speak with relevant government agencies to gauge interest.

“As the future of work continues to be performed digitally and globally, businesses have many new ways to get work done,” Gene Zaino, founder and CEO of MBO Partners, said. “In contrast, businesses encounter growing regulatory complexities when providing jobs to American independent contractors. We must quickly simplify the worker classification structure to keep valuable jobs from leaving American shores.”

The proposal calls the Small Business Administration to administer the certification, which would be valid for three years. To take part in the system, workers would need to bill at least $50 per hour to ensure that workers who cannot handle the costs of self-employment do not go down this path. And any worker who does not go through the program would be subject to existing laws.

Such a solution is overdue, according to MBO Partners, which cites its research showing the US independent workforce currently includes more than 40 million people with the number projected to grow to more than half the American workforce by 2020.

“By allowing independent workers to declare their professional independence and take on the burdens necessary to be their own employers, we avoid misapplying employee-focused regulations,” Zaino said. “In doing so, this avoids a major debate on regulatory change, and preserves a system by which taxes and regulations can continue to be more easily enforced.”

MBO also argues a certification would be better than other proposals that have called for a “dependent contractor” category, saying one universally applied solution would not be prudent. Protections are needed for workers who earn low-to-moderate incomes on “commodity service platforms” such as Uber, Handy and Upwork. But for other independent workers, who do not wish to be employees, regulation should be balanced between protection and freedom from restraint.

It would cover independent contractors in all industries.

MBO’s proposal is available online.

Could such a plan work? If the IRS is able to collect taxes from the certified self-employed contractors, and not receive less than if the contractor was an employee, MBO’s proposed system may gain the necessary support, according to Fiona Coombe, director, legal & regulatory research at Staffing Industry Analysts.

However, MBO’s suggestion is similar to the Dutch VAR model, which the Dutch tax authorities are scrapping because it is open to abuse, with those contractors holding a VAR who are not genuinely self-employed paying less in tax than they should, according to Coombe.

If MBO’s proposal were to move forward, it would also need to address a few issues, according to Coombe. One concern would be if certification is based on a project, or a set of facts, current at the start of the three-year certification period. If the worker moves on to another project that is not a bona fide independent contractor engagement, the worker could be subject to exploitation.

Another concern: The certification process could be complex and burdensome if the self-employed worker has to produce evidence that the client does not have a right to control the work. The VAR Dutch system guaranteed that clients would not be held liable for any taxes, but under the new system from May 2016, the client can be held liable to pay taxes if the worker-client relationship is found to be that of an employee-employer relationship.