The Burr Broadcast: New Independent Contractor Rule
DE Under 3: US DOL's WHD Published Its “Employee or Independent Contractor” Classification Final Rule
#WorkforceWednesday: Employee Privacy and COVID-19, CMS Vaccine Mandate on Hold, Independent Contractor Classification - Employment Law This Week®
#WorkforceWednesday: New AB5 Exemptions, EEOC COVID-19 Updates, Joint-Employer Rule Partially Struck Down - Employment Law This Week®
Employment Law This Week®: FAA Arguably Preempts California Law, New CA Employment Laws for 2020, CA Consumer Privacy Act Amended
Employment Law This Week®: DOL’s Final Overtime Rule, CA Codifies “ABC Test,” Pay Data Collection Beyond 2018, NLRB’s Busy Summer
Legal Minute: Contractor Misclassification
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
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
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
The Biden Administration’s Labor Department earlier today issued a proposed regulation that seeks to define the worker classification test for independent contractor or employee status under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
Employers who retain independent contractors in New Jersey may face greater exposure for wage and hour claims following a recent ruling in the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeal....more
A recent decision by the New Jersey Supreme Court makes this a good time for companies using independent contractors to review those arrangements. In East Bay Drywall v. Department of Labor & Workforce Development, the...more
The highlights of independent contractor legal developments in November 2021 focus on interstate transportation workers. Questions addressed by the courts last month included whether ride-sharing workers classified as...more
The retroactive application of Dynamex may permit a Grubhub driver’s suit alleging he was misclassified as an independent contractor, according to a new decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit....more
The first three cases reported below regarding legal developments in August 2021 have four common denominators: the defendants are all large gig economy companies; plaintiffs’ class action counsel is the same; the lawsuits...more
In a rare victory for employers, a California Court of Appeal in Wilson v. The La Jolla Group, 2021 WL 940283 (3/12/2021) affirmed the trial court’s denial of class certification of independent contractors’ wage and hour...more
January 2021 may well be remembered in the independent contractor area of law as the “not so fast” month. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals told lower courts “not so fast” when it comes to certifying collective actions. ...more
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its Final Rule to provide guidance on determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). ...more
Last month presented a clash between the enactment of a new version of the most restrictive state law test in the nation for independent contractor status and the issuance of a proposed federal regulation that would create...more
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the closure of the California Legislature for long stretches of time this year. The work of the body continued on, however, and at the end of the session it passed the usual flurry of labor...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses operating in California have had all of eight months to adapt since Assembly Bill 5, a landmark piece of legislation governing their relationships with independent contractors, took effect on...more
Many independent contractors complained of dire consequences after Assembly Bill 5 (AB5) became effective in California on January 1, 2020. Following intense lobbying and public relations campaigns, independent contractors in...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
May 2020 was not a busy month for the filing of new independent contractor misclassification lawsuits, as some courts were closed for new filings and many lawyers were working remotely. But five cases came to our attention...more
It is no secret that independent contractor misclassification claims are being filed against employers with a great deal of frequency, often as class actions and often in California. Many of those lawsuits have been filed...more
This past month was the first month we can recall where there were no legal developments of note involving class action independent contractor misclassification lawsuits, which have become increasingly prevalent. Instead,...more
Since its enactment last fall, California’s AB 5—legislation adopting the so-called “ABC test” for purposes of determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or statutory employee—has dominated not only the legal...more
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
Last year, jurisdictions across the nation issued new laws and regulations further complicating compliance issues for employers, particularly for multi-state employers. Some of the most significant developments related to new...more
While selected states are in the midst of trying to crack down on independent contractor misclassification, the federal government is trying to clear a path and clarify the tests for independent contractor status under...more