Welcome to FP Gig Economy Snapshot, where we take a quick snapshot look at the most significant workplace law developments with an emphasis on how they impact gig economy businesses. This edition focuses on the Department of...more
Answering industry calls for a 21st-century solution to a 21st-century problem, a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers recently introduced a bill in Congress that would create a hybrid job classification for gig economy...more
Welcome to FP Forecast, a monthly outlook featuring Fisher Phillips thought leaders providing their insights into what employers can expect in 2022 and beyond. By following along each month, you’ll be in the best position to...more
A recent post by Alaura Jacobs, Product Marketing Manager at Mitratech, examined three ways in which workflow automation can benefit your organization when managing freelance employees – and there are obvious crossover...more
In a groundbreaking move that gig economy companies hope to be mimicked across the country, Washington just enacted a new state law that guarantees minimum per-trip pay rates, paid sick leave, and workers’ compensation...more
As gig economy businesses – and other employers that implement gig-like workforce models – gear up for a new year, it’s natural to look ahead and begin to set expectations for what the road ahead might bring. We’ve scoured...more
1/24/2022
/ ABC Test ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
Business Model ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Ridesharing ,
Wage and Hour
In one of its final moves of the year, the National Labor Relations Board announced in late December that will reconsider the current legal standard for determining whether workers are independent contractors or employees....more
In an unexpected blow to gig economy companies in California, a state court judge just reversed the will of voters and overturned the law created by ballot measure that ensured that app-based rideshare and delivery drivers...more
8/24/2021
/ Ballot Measures ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Ridesharing ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws
Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh didn’t beat around the bush when he provided his first public thoughts about the gig economy workforce since assuming office. In an interview with Reuters released on Thursday, Walsh said “in a...more
If a consortium of businesses have their way, the federal government will be forced to adopt and enforce the rule proposed by the Trump-era Department of Labor that was about to make it easier for businesses to classify their...more
A unique legislative proposal pending in Connecticut would upend the way that gig economy businesses interact with their workers – and has drawn both strong support and vocal dissent from the very group of individuals it is...more
We knew it had been coming, but the Biden recently made it official: the Department of Labor announced it wants to rescind the gig economy rule that was originally crafted under President Trump’s tenure and was about to make...more
The new administration’s efforts to reverse course on many of the gains that gig economy businesses achieved under previous White House leadership took another step friday as the Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew a guidance...more
A federal appeals court just resurrected a pivotal gig economy battle that at one time seemed to be the center of the legal universe – but for a variety of reasons seems much less important these days. The 9th Circuit Court...more
Joe Biden made no secret about his position on the gig economy when he was in campaign mode. “Employer misclassification of ‘gig economy’ workers as independent contractors deprives these workers of legally mandated benefits...more
Just two months after 58% of Californians voted it into effect and not even one month after it became law of the state, a group of workers and a major union have filed suit to overturn the results of Proposition 22, the...more
1/15/2021
/ Ballot Measures ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Ridesharing ,
SEIU ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws
Given the tumultuous news that occupied all of our attentions last week, you may have missed the announcement that President-elect Biden has nominated Boston Mayor Marty Walsh to be the next Secretary of Labor – the first...more
1/11/2021
/ Affirmative Action ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Equal Pay ,
Foreign Workers ,
Immigration Procedures ,
Independent Contractors ,
Joint Employers ,
Paid Leave ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Presidential Nominations ,
Secretary of Labor ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
If it had been released at some other point in time and under different circumstances, perhaps gig economy businesses would be celebrating the release of a federal rule that makes it easier to classify workers as independent...more
The Labor Department finalized a new rule yesterday that aims to make it easier for businesses to classify workers as independent contractors – but the rule faces a very uncertain future given that the Biden administration...more
It’s typical as the year winds down to turn our attention to the upcoming new year to try to figure out what’s in store for us. And like no other time in most of our lives, we’re looking forward to putting the past year in...more
With only a few weeks left in 2020 and a new administration set to take control of the Department of Labor a few weeks later, companies that rely upon a gig economy business model may be in store for a nice gift this...more
In a recent op-ed penned in Business Insider, DoorDash co-founder and CEO Tony Xu laid out a three-step plan necessary to ensure that our nation’s workplace laws stay current to address the ever-growing gig economy by...more
The federal government has taken another step to further incentivize highly skilled workers to join the gig economy: it has proposed rules that would permit publicly held gig companies to offer equity compensation to their...more
12/2/2020
/ Comment Period ,
Compensation & Benefits ,
Equity Compensation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Proposed Rules ,
Public Comment ,
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ,
Skilled Laborers ,
Stocks ,
Wage and Hour
The dust is beginning to settle after California voters overwhelmingly approved a new test for determining whether app-based rideshare and delivery drivers are considered employees or independent contractors, essentially...more
Now that all major media outlets have projected Joe Biden to be our next president, it is natural to begin to wonder what the next four years might look like for the gig economy. Our firm published a detailed assessment about...more