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
The New York City Commission on Human Rights issued today a new set of first-in-the-nation guidelines addressing racial discrimination in employment, school, or places of public accommodation based on an individual’s natural...more
New York State and New York City started and ended 2018 and started 2019 by enacting ten worker protections that mandate additional requirements for New York employers. If you have not already done so, now is a good time to...more
2/13/2019
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Earned Sick Time ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Gender Expression ,
Governor Cuomo ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Lactation Accommodation ,
Paid Leave ,
Popular ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Safe Leave ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Sexual Orientation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
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
The National Labor Relations Board issued a decision overturning a union-friendly test for independent contractor status that had been adopted by the Board during the Obama Administration. In its decision in SuperShuttle DFW...more
Shortly after the issuance of the Supreme Court’s decision earlier today in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, some commentators have referred to the opinion as a watershed opinion preserving the right of workers including...more
1/16/2019
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Exceptions ,
Federal Arbitration Act ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motion to Compel ,
New Prime v Oliveira ,
Question of Arbitrability ,
Reaffirmation ,
SCOTUS
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
Even before the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last May in Epic Systems Corp., which upheld mandatory arbitration agreements, courts have been busy enforcing or striking down arbitration provisions. Many of those decisions...more
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
A little-known provision of a new federal law will likely impact the hiring process of most employers. On September 12, 2018, without seeking any public comment and with no advanced notice, the Consumer Financial Protection...more
Independent contractor misclassification lawsuits swept across a swath of businesses last month, affecting companies in both the gig economy and traditional industries. Discussed below are class action and individual...more
10/11/2018
/ Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Litigation ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Popular ,
Title VII ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour