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Independent Contractors Employment Litigation

Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent... more +
Independent contractors are individuals or entities that perform work for other individuals or entities, but are not employees of those individuals or entities. Whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is not always an easy determination. However, due to differences in tax and liability treatment, misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor can have serious consequences. Autonomy is the defining feature of independent contractor arrangements. Independent contractors control the manner and method of how work is performed while payers control the desired result. Control over schedule and number of hours worked, ownership of equipment or tools, permanency of relationship, and acceptance of jobs from multiple entities are all possible factors in determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor.   less -
Locke Lord LLP

NLRB About to Rule That Independent Contractor Misclassification Alone Violates Law

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Is independent contractor misclassification, standing alone, a violation of the National Labor Relations Act? Last month, the National Labor Relations Board issued a decision in a case involving workers who were found to be...more

Fisher Phillips

Labor Department to Crack Down on These 7 Workplace Contract Provisions

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The Labor Department’s top lawyer announced on Tuesday that the agency would target seven specific employment-related contract provisions that she believes could discourage workers from exercising their rights under federal...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Appellate Courts Restore a Measure of Sanity to Independent Contractor Classification Under Massachusetts’ Wage Law

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In a refreshing break for business in the Bay State, two recent appellate court decisions have confirmed that legitimate independent contractor relationships are alive and well in Massachusetts. Those decisions are Patel, et...more

Lathrop GPM

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Rules that Franchisees Did Not Perform Services for Franchisor Within the Meaning of the...

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The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court answered “no” to a certified question from the First Circuit Court of Appeals asking whether plaintiff franchisees “‘perform any service’ for 7-Eleven within the meaning of [the...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Upholds 7-Eleven Franchise System in Denying Franchisees’ Challenge to Their Independent...

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On September 5, 2024, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (“SJC”) answered a second certified question in Patel, et al. v. 7-Eleven, Inc., et al. (“Patel II”), a long-running case where 7-Eleven franchisees claimed they...more

Seyfarth Shaw LLP

Legislative Update: Legislature Hikes the Ball For Signing Kickoff

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Seyfarth Synopsis: The Legislature concluded its 2023-24 session in the wee hours of its August 31, 2024, deadline to pass bills. Now it’s up to Governor Newsom to call the plays as to what employment bills he will sign into...more

Locke Lord LLP

Independent Contractor Misclassification Lawsuits Involve Record Label Artists, Imam, ‎and Recyclable Sorters: August 2024 IC...

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The legal developments in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance last month include cases against a record label company, an Islamic Center, and a waste recycling company. Lawsuits for IC...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb: August Appellate Roundup

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This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments in federal courts of appeal in the last month. Fifth Circuit Vacates DOL Tip Credit Rule...more

PilieroMazza PLLC

Call It What It Is: D.C. Cracks Down on Employee Misclassification in Construction

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Employee misclassification is an area of employment law that has steadily become a prominent subject of litigation in recent years. The decision of whether a specific worker is properly identified as an employee or...more

Locke Lord LLP

Jurors Disagree on Whether Ride Share Drivers Are Independent Contractors or ‎Employees: June 2024 IC Legal News Update ‎

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Lawyers representing ride share drivers have argued for years that their clients are being misclassified as independent contractors under federal and state laws. They have attained little success, however, obtaining...more

Fisher Phillips

SCOTUS to Ponder Proof in Wage Misclassification Case: 5 Steps for Employers to Comply with Overtime Exemption Rules

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What evidence does an employer need to show a court to prove it correctly classified employees as exempt from minimum wage and overtime pay? The Supreme Court announced on June 17 that it will address a disagreement among...more

Fisher Phillips

Workplace Law Update: 10 Essential Items on Your July To-Do List

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It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law, especially since the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace. In order to ensure you stay on top of the latest changes and have an action plan...more

Locke Lord LLP

Industries Counteract Class Action Independent Contractor Misclassification Claims: May ‎‎2024 IC Legal News Update‎

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Class action independent contractor misclassification cases continue to be filed and most seem to settle, often for large sums, as we have reported in our blog posts on legal developments each month. But some industries have...more

Carlton Fields

Federal Court Rejects Argument That Subsequent Opt-Out of Arbitration Clause Precluded Arbitration

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The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois has rejected an argument that opting out of arbitration clauses precluded arbitration under prior arbitration agreements in a dispute between Uber drivers and...more

Miles Mediation & Arbitration

Arbitrability of Sexual Harassment and Sexual Discrimination Cases: Litigating in an Alternative Universe

It is generally understood, or at least it has been in the past, that plaintiffs prefer to avoid the application of the Federal Arbitration Act (the “FAA”) and instead present their cases to juries. As such, plaintiffs have...more

Locke Lord LLP

Supreme Court FAA Decision Creates Even More Questions About Independent ‎Contractors and Arbitration: April 2024 IC Legal News...

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Is an independent food distributor exempt from an arbitration agreement under the interstate transportation worker exemption in the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA)? That was the question that the U.S. Supreme Court addressed in...more

Cranfill Sumner LLP

Exception for “Transportation Workers” Under the Federal Arbitration Act Grows Larger

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The courts will generally enforce employee arbitration agreements via the Federal Arbitration Act (“FAA”). However, a “transportation workers” exemption exists under the FAA. On April 12, 2024, the United States Supreme Court...more

Locke Lord LLP

Why Was a Carpenter Misclassified as Independent Contractor But a Truck Cleaner Was ‎Not? March 2024 IC Legal News Update

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Two court cases we summarize below, decided in March 2024, demonstrate that while some companies may prevail in an IC misclassification lawsuit, others do not. Why? As a starting point, the legal test for IC status under the...more

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Employment Flash - March 2024

In this issue of Employment Flash: the new DOL rule on independent contractors, SCOTUS’s unanimous Sarbanes-Oxley whistleblower ruling, plus labor law developments in California, Delaware, D.C., New York, the EU, Germany and...more

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP

The Latest Major Developments in NC and SC Business Litigation

Employers in South Carolina faced with litigation might have an easier time winning motions for summary judgment, noncompete agreements remain in the crosshairs, and the North Carolina Supreme Court offered some rare how-to...more

Littler

Littler Lightbulb: February Appellate Roundup

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This Littler Lightbulb highlights some of the more significant employment law developments at the U.S. Supreme Court and federal courts of appeal in the last month....more

Locke Lord LLP

Case Establishing Strict New Jersey Test for Independent Contractor Status Finally ‎Resolved: January 2024 IC Legal News Update

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In early 2015, New Jersey borrowed the state’s strict ABC test under its unemployment law and adopted it as the new test for independent contractor status under its wage laws. That change in the law was not an act by the...more

Stikeman Elliott LLP

Meal Delivery Service’s Mandatory Arbitration Clause for Couriers Unconscionable: Manitoba Court of Appeal

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The Manitoba Court of Appeal (the “Court”) in Pokornik v. SkipTheDishes Restaurant Services Inc., 2024 MBCA 3, recently upheld a lower court decision dismissing a large online meal delivery service’s motion to stay a class...more

CDF Labor Law LLP

SCOTUS Set To Weigh In On Whether Courts May Dismiss Actions That Are Referred To Arbitration

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CDF Wage and Hour Task Force – Monthly Blog - Enforceable arbitration agreements continue to provide California employers who are faced with wage and hour claims with significant benefits....more

Locke Lord LLP

Even Clown Companies Are Targets of Independent Contractor Misclassification ‎Lawsuits: December 2023 IC Legal News Update

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We have had the opportunity, in the course of our independent contractor practice, to represent clients in over 75 diverse industries including some in rather esoteric businesses. These clients have included musical bands,...more

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