#WorkforceWednesday: New AB5 Exemptions, EEOC COVID-19 Updates, Joint-Employer Rule Partially Struck Down - Employment Law This Week®
Episode 13: NYC's New Freelancer Protection Law And The Future Of The On-Demand Economy
Continuing a years’ long trend of extensive alterations to workplace laws, New York State and New York City continued to enact new workplace legislation impacting employers. A substantial number of enacted bills in the past...more
A new year always brings updates in state employment laws and 2024 will be no exception. Below is a review of the laws going into effect in Illinois. All laws will be effective January 1, 2024 unless otherwise indicated....more
For employers, the use of independent contractors to assist in business operations is an important option. Contractors typically provide flexibility and cost savings as they don’t receive overtime pay or employee...more
Thanks to powerful lobbying, last week the House of Representatives introduced a new bipartisan bill, the Worker Flexibility and Choice Act (the “Act”). This bill provides for a new classification of workers in between...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 7, 2020, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (“EOHED”) issued its updated COVID-19 Essential Services FAQs, providing more details on what is and what is not...more
2019 brought a number of important changes in the law that warrant the attention of New York employers. Start off the new year right and ensure your calendars are up to date by including the 2020 effective dates of these New...more
We reported last year about the importance of a new retirement system for the gig economy. Typical gig workers are currently not entitled to enjoy a traditional employer-based retirement plan because the law only permits such...more
Philadelphia is about to become the first city in the country to approve legislation that would create a portable bank of paid time off for domestic workers. And it could create the model for a similar blueprint that would...more
As we reported just a few weeks ago, Congress has begun to gather information and consider the “future of work,” with considerable emphasis on the role of the gig economy. Although this emergency economy is growing rapidly,...more
Lawmakers have begun to hold a series of hearings to discuss the “future of work,” and it may be no surprise that the two political parties have differing ideas about how that should impact the gig economy. The House...more
The New Jersey Legislature appears poised to pass S67, the Portable Benefits Act for Independent Contractors, in the upcoming lame-duck session. If passed, the Governor is expected to sign the bill before the end of the year....more
Perhaps the biggest news coming out of California’s Legislature this year was the passage of Assembly Bill 5 – the new law that codifies the 2018 Dynamex case and which imposes a new test for determining employee or...more
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code,...more
As I wrote previously, it is no secret that labor laws have been unable to keep pace with the changing economy, despite challenges from the bench to address the needs of the gig economy. Certain state legislatures (e.g....more
One of the drawbacks of entering the gig economy as a worker is that gig businesses are somewhat hamstrung by current law from providing a raft of benefits usually associated with full-time employment. That’s because...more
While much of the attention this midterm election has been focused on Congress and federal issues - the “blue wave” and a “referendum” on the Trump presidency - California employers know all too well that employment and labor...more
We can safely say that one of the biggest supporters of the gig economy is Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D). Back in 2016, he advocated for the Labor Department to update its statistics to help us get better insight into the...more
It’s a small step, but at least it’s progress. Federal regulators made it easier this week for gig workers to obtain health insurance on a more cost-effective basis, which should help to shore up the ranks of gig workers and...more
Worker misclassification is one of the biggest issues facing businesses in the gig space and elsewhere. As the demand for gig workers increases, businesses are thinking of creative ways to hire and retain great talent....more
As if gig businesses haven’t had enough bad news to digest in the past few weeks... fresh off the heels of the California Supreme Court’s decision in the Dynamex Operations case, members of Congress are now focusing on...more
As an increasing number of workers continue to join the gig economy, it is increasingly imperative for lawmakers and regulators to create a new retirement system that allows for freelancers and individuals working for...more
As we have previously discussed, one of the hottest gig economy issues to dominate political and public policy debate has been “portable” benefits – the concept that gig economy workers should have flexible, portable benefits...more
February 16 was the deadline to introduce new bills in the California Legislature. By that date, nearly 2,200 bills were introduced. While that may seem like a staggering amount of legislative proposals (especially for a...more
Offering health, retirement, and workers’ compensation benefits to the varied gig workforce, while maintaining some affordability to the worker while also avoiding the 30 percent cost increase to businesses, has proven to be...more
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there were an unprecedented number of changes each month in 2017—and if January is any...more