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
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
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
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
It was only a matter of time. For many years, class action lawyers have filed thousands of lawsuits under wage / hour and other employment laws on behalf of individuals who allege they were employees who have been...more
August 2018 was a busy month in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance including a number of new court filings and decisions, new regulatory initiatives, and new legislation. While none of these...more
Last month was notable for a number of judicial and administrative decisions against companies defending independent contractor misclassification claims. In one case, the plaintiff seeks to use the company’s statements in...more
8/14/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Over-Time ,
Ridesharing ,
Uber ,
Unpaid Wages ,
Wage and Hour
This past month was not a particularly newsworthy month in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance, but four court cases do provide insights for businesses that rely on ICs. In the first case...more
The past two months were momentous for many companies that engage independent contractors in California to supplement their workforce or to interact with their customers. This applies not only to businesses based in...more
6/11/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
Section 7 ,
Uber ,
Unfair Labor Practices ,
Wage and Hour
When the California Supreme Court issued its groundbreaking decision in the Dynamex case on April 30, announcing a new test to be used in determining independent contractor status under certain California laws, it left open a...more
A cottage industry for plaintiffs’ class action lawyers has been independent contractor (IC) misclassification lawsuits, and one of the industries taking the brunt of those types of legal proceedings is energy, particularly...more
On April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in a case that could change the legal test as to whether an individual is an independent contractor or an employee under California’s wage and...more
Earlier today, the California Supreme Court established the Golden State as one of the least hospitable jurisdictions in the nation toward independent contractor status. Abandoning its decades-old common law test used to...more
Yesterday, Uber Technologies, Inc. won a watershed case under federal and state wage laws on the issue of whether Uber drivers are independent contractors, as the company has steadfastly maintained. A federal district court...more
Last month, half of the cases that came to our attention in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance involved interesting issues concerning arbitration – and lessons for companies seeking to limit...more