“Independent contractor misclassification” is a phrase that is misunderstood, misapplied, and misused – constantly. It is used to cover an array of disparate forms of IC misclassification: unpardonable; uninformed;...more
Last month saw large settlements and yet another new lawsuit against companies that have an independent contractor business model, but also success by such companies in obtaining a favorable jury verdict in an IC...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
The latest version of Assembly Bill 5, which codifies the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision that was issued in April 2018, is about to become law. Dynamex created a so-called ABC test requiring companies to satisfy...more
The National Labor Relations Board earlier today held that a courier services company misclassified drivers as independent contractors instead of employees, who are protected under the National Labor Relations Act....more
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
On July 9, the New Jersey Misclassification Task Force issued its first Report. The Task Force was created by an Executive Order issued by Governor Phil Murphy on May 3, 2018 and includes representatives from the Labor,...more
This past month was relatively uneventful in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance news, if one regards a $16.5 million settlement as unremarkable. But the amount of the settlements in IC...more
The publisher of this legal blog and Matthew Kane, the General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer of Z Capital Group, LLC, wrote an article as guest authors for Private Equity Law Report entitled “How to Evaluate Portfolio...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
In a very favorable ruling for insurance companies, a federal district court on May 6 held that Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company had not misclassified as an independent contractor (IC) a life insurance agent who...more
Following on the heels of a very favorable decision by a federal appellate court earlier this year that insurance agents for American Family Insurance were not misclassified by the company as independent contractors in a...more
Ride-sharing giant Uber Technologies announced by way of a filing today with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it has reached agreements to resolve the independent contractor (IC) classification claims of a...more
Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Labor issued an Opinion Letter on the issue of independent contractor status of an on-demand virtual marketplace company (VMC) that refers end-market consumers to service providers who...more
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
Companies that operate their businesses on an independent contractor model or supplement their workforce with ICs are likely to be asking, “Does the proposed new joint employer regulation issued by the U.S. Department of...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
This past month may well be regarded as one of the more legally satisfying for businesses using independent contractors. Courts issued three decisions in favor of companies on the issue as to whether certain workers are ICs...more
For the past 18 months, insurance companies have been holding their collective breath to see if an appellate court would affirm or reverse an Ohio district court decision concluding that thousands of current and former agents...more
For the past 18 months, insurance companies have been holding their collective breath to see if an appellate court would affirm or reverse an Ohio district court decision concluding that thousands of current and former agents...more
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
October was an eventful month for legal developments in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance. In one of the nine cases reported below, the U.S. Department of Labor continues to aggressively...more