This past month, the most notable lawsuit alleging independent contractor misclassification was an ERISA claim. ERISA lawsuits by workers alleging independent contractor misclassification can potentially expose companies to...more
Federal and local officials in Washington, D.C. took steps last month to gear up their counter-attacks against independent contractor misclassification, but companies that have taken meaningful steps to enhance their...more
Perhaps the most significant development involving independent contractor compliance and misclassification issues in December 2021 received relatively scant attention: a detailed empirical study based on survey results of a...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
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
On November 8, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul signed legislation (S2628) which requires New York employers who monitor employee telephone conversations, emails, and internet usage to provide notice of such monitoring to new...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
On October 11, 2021, we published a blog post on vaccination mandates for independent contractors. We addressed the issue of whether OSHA, in issuing a rule covering so called “large employers” with over 100 employees, will...more
State legislative efforts to expand the coverage of new employment laws to independent contractors in addition to employees continue to emerge. It appears that New York is on the cutting edge of this trend. We highlight...more
The country is focused on vaccination mandates for employees and customers. What about independent contractors? Can companies require them to be vaccinated? The answer to that question may depend on whether the independent...more
In the same month that 7-Eleven prevailed in a federal court trial where convenience store franchisees claimed they were not independent contractors but rather employees entitled to the protections of state labor laws, a...more
Can companies mandate that independent contractors be vaccinated? Do independent contractors have any rights if they are unwilling to comply with a vaccination mandate? The answer to these questions may depend on whether...more
On September 10, 2021, we alerted New York employers in a QuickStudy about COVID-19 being officially designated as an “airborne infectious disease” under the New York Health and Essential Rights Act (commonly referred to as...more
While much of the discussion about vaccination mandates involves employees, a more complicated question is whether such mandates can be imposed on independent contractors. This QuickStudy identifies a host of legal and...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
The New York Health and Essential Rights Act (commonly referred to as the “HERO Act”), which was enacted in May 2021, requires all New York employers to adopt a workplace safety plan for all airborne infectious diseases and...more
Earlier today, federal judge Dale Fischer in California issued a decision after a lengthy non-jury trial earlier this year, concluding that four 7-Eleven franchisees had been properly classified as independent contractors and...more
Most class action cases of independent contractor misclassification are brought against corporate entities. Yet many laws also permit plaintiffs to sue company executives or managers for personal liability in such cases. In...more
June was a relatively slow month in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance. But it produced what may turn out to be one of the more important judicial decisions in years affecting last-mile...more
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
Today President Biden announced that he is nominating Dr. David Weil as his Wage and Hour Administrator, the same person who served in that capacity during the Obama presidency. During the Trump Administration, Dr. Weil...more
A set of bills being finalized by the New York State legislature would, if enacted, dramatically alter the landscape of laws affecting independent contractor drivers who provide services to customers of ride-sharing...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
The U.S. Department of Labor today issued a rule yesterday that withdraws the Trump Administration’s regulation setting forth a test to classify workers as independent contractors or employees under the federal Fair Labor...more
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Labor formally issued a rule that withdraws the Trump Administration’s regulation addressing the test for classifying workers as independent contractors or employees under the federal...more