In this episode of Hiring to Firing, hosts Tracey Diamond and Emily Schifter dive into the intriguing intersection of reality TV and employment law. Joined by Troutman Pepper Locke Labor and Employment Partner Richard...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 most compelling news involving independent contractor compliance and misclassification last month was not a class action lawsuit or a government investigation but rather a government study released by the Bureau of Labor...more
We can learn quite a lot from a legal challenge faced by other business organizations in the same industry. In September, we noticed that a large health care system operating in seven states west of the Mississippi had been...more
The most significant legal development in the past month in the area of independent contractor compliance was the enactment of California’s Freelance Worker Protection Act, which goes into effect on January 1, 2025. We have...more
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
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
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
Case developments last month involved independent contractor misclassification lawsuits in the Southwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic states. While more IC misclassification lawsuits have been brought in California than any...more
In response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed regulation released to the public on October 11, 2022 entitled “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act,” an unprecedented...more
Earlier today, the Biden Administration’s Labor Department 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
Undoubtedly the most meaningful legal development in September 2022 was Uber’s agreement to pay $100 million in settlement to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development for back unemployment taxes. As...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
January 2021 may well be remembered in the independent contractor area of law as the “not so fast” month. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals told lower courts “not so fast” when it comes to certifying collective actions. ...more
Today, one day before the end of the Trump Administration, the Labor Department issued a series of opinion letters, one of which concluded that certain distributors who resell to retail outlets food products they purchase...more
In October, a diverse group of industries experienced adverse court rulings defending independent contractor classification class and collective action cases. Two cases involved courts granting conditional certification of...more
11/10/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Arbitration ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Insurance Agents ,
Insurance Industry ,
Misclassification ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Wage and Hour
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
Last month’s legal news in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance was dominated by two key arbitration decisions by federal circuit courts: one that compelled arbitration of an IC...more
Many independent contractors complained of dire consequences after Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) became effective in California on January 1, 2020. Following intense lobbying and public relations campaigns, independent contractors in...more
May 2020 was not a busy month for the filing of new independent contractor misclassification lawsuits, as some courts were closed for new filings and many lawyers were working remotely. But five cases came to our attention...more
This past month was the first month we can recall where there were no legal developments of note involving class action independent contractor misclassification lawsuits, which have become increasingly prevalent. Instead,...more
While selected states are in the midst of trying to crack down on independent contractor misclassification, the federal government is trying to clear a path and clarify the tests for independent contractor status under...more
2/18/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) ,
Wage and Hour
Ten years ago, when we began a legal blog dedicated to independent contractor compliance and misclassification, the landscape of the law involving ICs was quite different than today – although a great deal remains unchanged. ...more