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
Back in May 2022, we wrote about a surge of new employment laws and amendments to existing employment statutes in New York State and New York City. Since then, New York State and New York City have continued to enact a wave...more
New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law on November 22, 2023 the Freelance Isn’t Free Act bill (S 5026), after the Governor had vetoed the exact same bill (S 8369) the year before. This freelancer law, which was...more
This past month, new independent contractor misclassification lawsuits were filed in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, and Washington by EMTs, cellular service “drive testers,” home health aides, and app-based couriers making...more
In the waning days of 2022, New York Governor Kathy Hochul vetoed the New York State Freelance Isn’t Free Act bill (S 8369B) that had been awaiting her action for over six months. In early June 2023, the New York legislature...more
Companies can use two independent grounds to compel arbitration of independent contractor misclassification lawsuits: the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA) and state arbitration laws. The FAA, however, includes an exemption for...more
Companies using independent contractors have been worried that class action lawyers or a workforce agency will challenge their classification of workers as independent contractors. For the past dozen years, we have advised...more
The highly controversial joint employer regulation just issued by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) on October 26 is not so different than the standard that has historically been applied in determining whether a group...more
Every so often a large settlement of a class action lawsuit reverberates in the independent contractor world – but last month there were two mega-settlements. The first was between Flowers Foods, a large nationwide baked...more
It’s been almost a full year since the U.S. Department of Labor issued its proposed regulation entitled “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The proposed regulation was fully...more
Last month, Illinois became the first state to enact legislation requiring companies using independent contractors to offer contracts to ICs with prescribed terms and to pay such freelance contractors all of their fees within...more
We report on three case developments during July 2023 that raise the question whether last-mile, logistics, and delivery companies alleged to have misclassified drivers as independent contractors can compel arbitration of...more
We report below on four case developments during June 2023 in the area of independent contractor misclassification: two of which are centered on Illinois. That state has one of the most stringent statutory tests for...more
On June 20, 2023, the New York State Assembly passed Assembly Bill 1278, which was passed by the New York State Senate earlier this month, prohibiting certain non-compete agreements and restrictive covenants in New York. The...more
Yesterday, June 13, 2023, the NLRB issued a lengthy decision in its Atlanta Opera case dealing with the applicable test for independent contractor status under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). This decision reversed...more
The lead case in our review of last month’s legal developments in the area of independent contractor compliance and misclassification is a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit, in which it addresses the...more
We reported in our October 10, 2022 blog post that Uber had agreed to pay $100 million in back unemployment taxes to the New Jersey Department of Labor for having classified drivers as independent contractors. Another state...more
Three of the five court cases of note in this monthly update involve California’s Assembly Bill 5, which has exponentially increased litigation involving independent contractor misclassification in that state. That...more
Ever since the New Jersey Supreme Court issued its 2015 decision in the Sleepy’s case, establishing an ABC test for wage and hour lawsuits, class action lawyers have targeted companies operating in that state for IC...more
Over 20 states and local jurisdictions have enacted pay transparency laws that are intended to address gender and other forms of bias in the pay received by women and minorities. Some jurisdictions require that companies...more
Case developments last month involved independent contractor misclassification lawsuits in the Southwest, Southeast, and Mid-Atlantic states. While more IC misclassification lawsuits have been brought in California than any...more
Most employers are generally familiar with the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (“WARN”), which offers protection to workers by requiring employers to provide notice sixty (60) days in advance of...more
Half of the court cases that we report on below from last month involve legal proceedings related to the sports industry: golf caddies, tennis pros, and sports editors. Misclassification within the multi-faceted sports and...more
This is an important update to the QuickStudy we published on November 9, 2022, shortly after New York City enacted a law requiring the posting of minimum and maximum salary or hour rate range for positions that can be...more
The most publicized legal development in the area of independent contractor law last month involved an opinion issued by a federal appellate court in a gig economy case that generated national attention. In a decision...more