Employment Law Now VI-120 - Joint Employer Ping Pong
III-38- Part 2 on Employee Marijuana Use and Two Key NLRB Developments
A Texas appeals court affirmed a lower court judgment in favor of Pizza Hut and its franchisee for claims of an alleged sexual assault by a delivery driver. The appellate court held Pizza Hut was not liable for the...more
On October 27, 2020, in 417 Pet Sitting, LLC v. Division of Employment Security (Pet Sitting LLC), the Western District of the Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the decision by the Missouri Department of Labor, Labor and...more
Frlekin v. Apple, Inc., -- Cal. -- (2020) - Summary: The time employees spent on Apple’s premises waiting for and undergoing a mandatory exit search of personal belongings was compensable as “hours worked” under Wage...more
In a case that should grab the attention of franchisors across the country, a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has ruled that McDonald’s Corporation is not the joint employer of the employees of a...more
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit recently issued a decision that could change the liability landscape for online marketplaces such as Amazon....more
Claim by Directional Drillers for Overtime Pay. The boom for domestic energy producers, particularly in the Permian Basin, has been accompanied by the companion challenge of how to compensate transient oilfield professionals...more
The year 2018 saw the issuance of several noteworthy federal workplace safety and health decisions. Three of those decisions came in the cases of Secretary of Labor v. Angelica Textile Services, Inc.; United States v. Mar-Jac...more
The Federal Court recently handed down its decision in Calico Global Pty Ltd v Calico LLC. This decision highlights the potentially fatal consequences of not updating the IP Australia register to reflect a change in trade...more
Holding that reproduction of a digital file for purposes of resale does not fall under the “first sale” doctrine of the Copyright Act, the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the district court’s grant of...more
Last week, the French Court of Appeals dealt another blow to global gig businesses, ruling that the agreement between Uber and a former driver was “an employment contract,” because the former driver was “dependent” on Uber...more
In a 2-1 decision issued December 28, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld the National Labor Relations Board’s (NLRB’s) determination that both an employer’s reserved authority...more
This month’s key California employment law cases are two decisions from the California Court of Appeal. Curry v. Equilon Enters., LLC, 22 Cal. App. 5th 772 (2018) - Summary: Employees of entities who leased and...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
Sure, there have been some high-profile legal setbacks for gig economy businesses in the area of misclassification lately; the Dynamex case was a punch in the gut for California businesses, and the Pimlico Plumbers case is a...more
On Monday, April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court issued a landmark decision in the matter of Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court of Los Angeles. In a voluminous, 82-page decision, the California Supreme...more
At the forefront of mind of every gig economy company is the troublesome question of whether its workers are properly classified as independent contractors. Just search our blog for cases involving “misclassification” and...more
We knew we hadn’t heard the end of this case, but yesterday it’s official: the worker who lost what is believed to be the nation’s first-ever gig economy misclassification trial last month has filed an appeal with the 9th...more
In December 2017, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued a number of important decisions prior to the end of then chairman Philip Miscimarra’s term. One of those important decisions was Hy-Brand Industrial...more
A continuing point of contention in employment law revolves around who is an employee versus who is an independent contractor. The issue seems to come up often in wage and hour cases and workers’ compensation or unemployment...more
Aéropostale is known by many as a staple of adolescent wardrobes and shopping-mall standard. But as a patsy for kickback schemes? In United States v. Finazzo, 14-3213-cr, 14-3330-cr (Droney, J., joined by Judges Sack and...more
Prudent franchisors have been reducing their apparent control over franchisees' employees to reduce the risk of becoming joint employers of those employees. But could a franchisor's control over the franchisees themselves be...more
Supreme Court Advance Release Opinions: SC19493 - Standard Oil of Connecticut, Inc. v. Administrator, Unemployment Compensation Act - SC19493 Dissent - Standard Oil of Connecticut, Inc. v. Administrator,...more
When an employer has a denial of class certification remanded by an appellate court, it has a reason to worry. And while the employer might breathe a sigh of relief when the district court on remand again denies class...more
In late January, a California Court of Appeal issued a ruling in Augustus v. ABM Security Services, Inc., overturning a $90 million award against the company because ABM required its security guards to keep their radios and...more