The most significant development last month in the law of independent contractors was not one of the four cases we summarize below but rather a bill passed by the New York Senate. ...more
4/15/2025
/ Class Action ,
Employment Litigation ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Reform ,
Misclassification ,
New York ,
Penalties ,
Popular ,
Proposed Legislation ,
Regulatory Agenda ,
State Labor Laws ,
VA Supreme Court ,
Wage and Hour
Few industries are immune from class actions alleging IC misclassification of workers paid on a 1099 basis. One industry that has not yet been besieged by these types of lawsuits is travel, but that may be changing. ...more
As the business of artificial intelligence is expanding, it seemed it was only a matter of time before the AI industry became the subject of an independent contractor misclassification lawsuit. Last month, one of the leading...more
1/8/2025
/ Arbitration ,
Artificial Intelligence ,
California ,
Class Action ,
Compliance ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Litigation ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
It has been well over a year since the U.S. Department of Labor issued its proposed rule entitled “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The regulation was expressly intended...more
1/9/2024
/ Administrative Interpretation ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Economic Realities Test ,
Employees ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Final Rules ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
Ever since the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its 2015 decision in the Sleepy’s case, establishing an ABC test for wage and hour lawsuits, class action lawyers have targeted companies operating in that state for IC...more
We highlight below the independent contractor misclassification and compliance developments that occurred in July and August 2022, but three deserve special mention. One of the most important judicial developments is a new...more
Three industries suffered setbacks last month in independent contractor misclassification cases, while another targeted industry targeted scored a success. As we have reported in many prior blog posts, class action lawyers...more
A decision by a federal court in New Jersey last month is a reminder to companies that arbitration clauses need to be drafted well in order to succeed. New Jersey courts for many years have been perhaps the most finicky in...more
Earlier this week, the National Labor Relations Board issued an Order inviting the public to file briefs in a case involving the independent contractor status of workers providing makeup and hairstyle services to the Atlanta...more
October was a relatively “slow” month for legal developments in the areas of independent contractor misclassification and compliance. But for companies that engage drivers to distribute pharmaceutical products, a nearly $12...more
The first three cases reported below regarding legal developments in August 2021 have four common denominators: the defendants are all large gig economy companies; plaintiffs’ class action counsel is the same; the lawsuits...more
9/15/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Lyft ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
Direct sellers and door-to-door salespersons are frequently classified as independent contractors – and that classification is increasingly under attack, both by class action lawyers and the U.S. Department of Labor, as...more
April 2021 was a meaningful month for two industries that are hardly strangers to lawsuits involving the status of workers as independent contractors. A federal district court in the District of Columbia issued an extremely...more
5/12/2021
/ ABC Test ,
Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
Popular ,
Ridesharing
Last month presented a clash between the enactment of a new version of the most restrictive state law test in the nation for independent contractor status and the issuance of a proposed federal regulation that would create...more
10/9/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Preemption ,
Wage and Hour
We highlight in this past month’s news update two class action settlements entered into by bakery companies alleged to have misclassified product distributors as independent contractors. One of those baked goods companies has...more
There were several notable court and administrative cases over the past two months, but they were overshadowed by a legislative matter: the enactment of Assembly Bill 5 in California, which was the subject of our September...more
10/2/2019
/ Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Franchisors ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRB ,
Popular ,
Ridesharing ,
Wage and Hour ,
Wage Payment and Collection Act
We are often asked, what industries are impacted by independent contractor misclassification? While IC misclassification claims are most prevalent in the construction, transportation, and gig economy businesses, there are...more
The past two months were two of the busiest ever in terms of judicial decisions involving claims of independent contractor misclassification, administrative and regulatory initiatives, and legislative developments. They are...more
6/11/2019
/ Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Insurance Agents ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
Cases reported below for this past month show that large companies remain in the crosshairs of class action lawyers representing workers in independent contractor misclassification lawsuits. Two well-known industry leaders in...more
Yesterday, the first $100-million dollar settlement of an independent contractor misclassification case suddenly became a $20-million dollar deal, but on the same day a new nine-figure settlement took its place....more
3/13/2019
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Settlement Agreements ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
One need only glance at the court cases we report on below to understand why some businesses choose to settle independent contractor misclassification cases. Three of these cases highlight the unpredictable approaches...more
3/12/2019
/ ADEA ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Class Action ,
DirectTV ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Franchisee ,
Franchises ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
As reported six months ago in an article in the E&P Journal, the oil and gas industry is under attack by plaintiffs’ class action lawyers filing independent contractor misclassification lawsuits. My colleagues Bill Swanstrom...more
There were only a handful of independent contractor misclassification cases of significance in December, but each of those matters relate to the subject of prior comprehensive posts on this blog....more
While there were no headline-grabbing cases or developments in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance during the past month, the first four court decisions reported below provide the basis for two...more
12/12/2018
/ Arbitration ,
Class Action ,
Class Certification ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Independent contractor misclassification lawsuits swept across a swath of businesses last month, affecting companies in both the gig economy and traditional industries. Discussed below are class action and individual...more
10/11/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Title VII ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour