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 President Trump’s Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an opinion letter that certain owner-operator drivers that provide services to a transportation and logistics company are...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
On the day the U.S. Department of Labor issued a proposed regulation regarding the classification status of independent contractors, we reported here that the regulation, once finalized, would be “much ado about (almost)...more
December was a very slow month for court decisions affecting independent contractors, but both decisions reported below confirm that effectively drafted arbitration clauses remain one of two “best friends” for businesses that...more
November 2020 was a superb month for ride-sharing and app-based delivery companies and for President-Elect Biden, but was far less favorable to professional sports leagues, interpreting and translation companies, oilfield...more
12/10/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Biden Administration ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Minimum Wage ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Preemption ,
Ridesharing ,
Wage and Hour
President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign issued a comprehensive labor plan that seems to focus on empowering unions. But while the title of this campaign platform is “The Biden Plan for Strengthening Worker Organizing, Collective...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
The results are in. Voters in California don’t want their rideshare and app-based delivery services to change. By an overwhelming majority, Proposition 22 was approved by California voters. Essentially, that means that...more
Many independent contractors complained of dire consequences when Assembly Bill 5 (“AB5”) became effective in California on January 1, 2020. Following intense lobbying and public relations campaigns, independent contractors...more
In response to the U.S. Department of Labor’s proposed regulation on independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act, over 1,500 individuals and organizations have already filed comments prior to the deadline...more
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
Yesterday, the U.S. Labor Department issued a proposed regulation addressing the classification criteria of workers as independent contractors or employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Unlike regulations with...more
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
Two recent federal appellate court decisions struck down Amazon’s arbitration clause in its agreements with workers who deliver its packages to Amazon customers. Those two rulings have created great concern for businesses in...more
Six of the nine cases reported below from July 2020 involve drivers’ class action lawsuits alleging independent contractor misclassification against transportation and logistics companies. They include three settlements, the...more
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
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
The last two months have consumed all of us with matters related to COVID-19. This public health emergency has created an anomalous situation virtually no one could have foreseen: legislation being passed at the federal level...more
The New York Court of Appeals today issued a decision involving the independent contractor status of a Postmates courier. As will become readily apparent by a description of the case history our “Takeaways” below, the...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
Our combined news update provides guidance for companies that utilize independent contractors on what not to do. The first lesson involves a company’s waiver of its best argument for compelling arbitration of an IC...more
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