Under current law, New York employers are statutorily required to provide a 21-day review and seven-day revocation periods in employment separation agreements in two scenarios: (1) if the employee is 40 or older and the...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
The legal developments in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance last month include cases against a record label company, an Islamic Center, and a waste recycling company. Lawsuits for IC...more
Lawyers representing ride share drivers have argued for years that their clients are being misclassified as independent contractors under federal and state laws. They have attained little success, however, obtaining...more
Class action independent contractor misclassification cases continue to be filed and most seem to settle, often for large sums, as we have reported in our blog posts on legal developments each month. But some industries have...more
As discussed in our QuickStudy of January 9, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued its long-awaited final rule setting forth its version of the test for independent contractor status under the federal Fair Labor Standards...more
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
We have had the opportunity, in the course of our independent contractor practice, to represent clients in over 75 diverse industries including some in rather esoteric businesses. These clients have included musical bands,...more
Back in May 2022, we wrote about a surge of new employment laws and amendments to existing employment statutes in New York State and New York City. Since then, New York State and New York City have continued to enact a wave...more
Every so often a large settlement of a class action lawsuit reverberates in the independent contractor world – but last month there were two mega-settlements. The first was between Flowers Foods, a large nationwide baked...more
We report on three case developments during July 2023 that raise the question whether last-mile, logistics, and delivery companies alleged to have misclassified drivers as independent contractors can compel arbitration of...more
We report below on four case developments during June 2023 in the area of independent contractor misclassification: two of which are centered on Illinois. That state has one of the most stringent statutory tests for...more
Yesterday, June 13, 2023, the NLRB issued a lengthy decision in its Atlanta Opera case dealing with the applicable test for independent contractor status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This decision reversed...more
We reported in our October 10, 2022 blog post that Uber had agreed to pay $100 million in back unemployment taxes to the New Jersey Department of Labor for having classified drivers as independent contractors. Another state...more
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
Half of the court cases that we report on below from last month involve legal proceedings related to the sports industry: golf caddies, tennis pros, and sports editors. Misclassification within the multi-faceted sports and...more
This is an important update to the QuickStudy we published on November 9, 2022, shortly after New York City enacted a law requiring the posting of minimum and maximum salary or hour rate range for positions that can be...more
The most publicized legal development in the area of independent contractor law last month involved an opinion issued by a federal appellate court in a gig economy case that generated national attention. In a decision...more
If your company operates on a national basis or if you are seeking any remote workers in the U.S., you are probably wondering, how can we possibly comply with the New York City pay transparency law and the hodgepodge of...more
The Biden Administration’s Labor Department earlier today issued a proposed regulation that seeks to define the worker classification test for independent contractor or employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
Last month, a Regional Director for the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing that could, if successful, dramatically change the landscape of independent contractor misclassification...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
Late last week, the National Labor Relations Board last week issued a Complaint and Notice of Hearing that could, if successful, make the act of misclassifying workers as independent contractors a violation of the National...more
The highlights of independent contractor legal developments in November 2021 focus on interstate transportation workers. Questions addressed by the courts last month included whether ride-sharing workers classified as...more