Were you paying attention to all the workplace law developments in 2023? While it’s hard to keep up with so many changes, you can take our quiz to test your knowledge and see how you stack up. But don’t worry if you get a...more
12/28/2023
/ Artificial Intelligence ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Diversity ,
Employee Handbooks ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Policies ,
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) ,
Form I-9 ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
NLRB ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OSHA ,
Religious Accommodation ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
In a groundbreaking move that gig economy companies hope to be mimicked across the country, Washington just enacted a new state law that guarantees minimum per-trip pay rates, paid sick leave, and workers’ compensation...more
In an unexpected blow to gig economy companies in California, a state court judge just reversed the will of voters and overturned the law created by ballot measure that ensured that app-based rideshare and delivery drivers...more
8/24/2021
/ Ballot Measures ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Ridesharing ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws
It’s been said that from crisis comes opportunity. And given that the COVID-19 pandemic has handed us the greatest collective crisis in our lifetimes, it should stand to reason that we should now be in the perfect position to...more
5/3/2021
/ Business Operations ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Corporate Governance ,
Data Security ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Foreign Workers ,
Form I-9 ,
Gig Economy ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Hospitality Industry ,
Labor Relations ,
Legal Operations ,
Pay Equity Laws ,
Remote Working ,
Staffing Agencies ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
A unique legislative proposal pending in Connecticut would upend the way that gig economy businesses interact with their workers – and has drawn both strong support and vocal dissent from the very group of individuals it is...more
Just two months after 58% of Californians voted it into effect and not even one month after it became law of the state, a group of workers and a major union have filed suit to overturn the results of Proposition 22, the...more
1/15/2021
/ Ballot Measures ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Ridesharing ,
SEIU ,
State Constitutions ,
State Labor Laws
The dust is beginning to settle after California voters overwhelmingly approved a new test for determining whether app-based rideshare and delivery drivers are considered employees or independent contractors, essentially...more
In one of the most closely watched (and most expensive) fronts in the ongoing battle over employment classification of gig workers, California voters appear to have approved Proposition 22, a ballot measure that confirms the...more
11/4/2020
/ Ballot Measures ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Ridesharing ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
In a budget deal finalized today and expected to be approved by state lawmakers in a matter of days, the California state legislature has reached an agreement that will see $17.5 million allocated toward enforcement of AB-5...more
San Francisco ratcheted up the pressure on California gig economy companies by not only filing a misclassification lawsuit against DoorDash, but promising that more such litigation was to come against other companies. Upon...more
6/18/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Corporate Counsel ,
DoorDash ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
San Francisco ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unfair Labor Practices
I was able to virtually attend a session of Albany Law School’s 2020 Warren M. Anderson Legislative Seminar Series last week on “The Gig Economy,” bringing together some of the nation’s foremost thought leaders on the subject...more
6/8/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
Misclassification ,
State and Local Government ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour
Not so long ago – 2019, to be exact – in a state not so far, far away – California – lawmakers passed the nation’s most controversial misclassification law to sweep as many independent contractors into employee status as...more
Over a million Californians have said they want a chance to vote on the misclassification law that threatens to upend the gig economy as we know it – and that means that their wish will soon be granted. Thanks to a...more
3/4/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Relations ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws
Gig economy company Instacart lost the latest round of its misclassification battle in San Diego Monday, as a California state court judge granted a preliminary injunction forcing it to reclassify its independent contractor...more
My colleague Todd Lyon wrote an excellent piece earlier this week about the House of Representatives passing the PRO Act, essentially a “wish list” for labor advocates seeking to tip the scales back towards unions. One of the...more
2/18/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Relations ,
Legislative Agendas ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Unions
A federal court judge today denied a request by several gig economy giants (and a few contractors) to block AB-5, the new misclassification law in California that codifies the ABC test and makes it much more difficult to...more
2/11/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Ballot Measures ,
Contracts Clause ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Relations ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
State Labor Laws
A federal judge just extended the reprieve that permitted California employers to escape the grasp of a newly enacted law that aimed to prevent them from utilizing mandatory arbitration agreements with their employees. After...more
New Jersey businesses will now face an increased slate of potential penalties for misclassification violations thanks to a series of bills just signed into effect by Governor Phil Murphy, but gig economy companies can breathe...more
The federal court that had granted a temporary restraining order on New Year’s Eve blocking California’s misclassification law from taking effect against the trucking industry just extended that ruling by granting a...more
1/17/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motor Carriers ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
TRO ,
Trucking Industry ,
Trucking Regulations
A federal judge took a pause from his New Year’s Eve revelries to hand a big victory to California truckers, blocking the state’s new misclassification law from impacting them before the January 1 effective date arrived....more
1/3/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commerce Clause ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employee Definition ,
Employment Litigation ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Preemption ,
Restraining Orders ,
State Labor Laws ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Trucking Industry
The truck drivers were the first group to take aim at AB5 through a lawsuit, and the freelancers followed suit. Soon before the clock strikes midnight to ring in the new year, two giants of the gig economy fired their own...more
The clock is steadily ticking towards midnight on December 31, and once the illuminated cluster of grapes drops from the Temecula Civic Center clock tower (this is actually a thing) and rings in the new year in California,...more
12/27/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Constitutional Challenges ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Journalists ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Writers
We’re now just a few weeks away from the nation’s most stringent independent contractor misclassification law taking effect in California. But if a group of truck drivers have their way, the law will stall out before it ever...more
11/19/2019
/ Commerce Clause ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Drivers ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994 (FAAAA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Newsom ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Injunctions ,
Injunctive Relief ,
Misclassification ,
Preemption ,
State Labor Laws ,
Supremacy Clause ,
Trucking Industry
When California’s AB 5 was signed into law last month, a chorus of voices decried the fact that it could radically change the gig economy as we know it. Many contended that the average app-based driver enjoyed being an...more
10/31/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
State Labor Laws ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour
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
10/30/2019
/ ABC Test ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Labor Regulations ,
OSHA ,
State Labor Laws ,
Wage and Hour