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
One of the most important legal developments last month is a new lawsuit filed by registered nurses against a leading health care system alleging that they have been misclassified as independent contractors instead of...more
The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts, answering a certified question, has ruled that five 7-Eleven franchisees were independent contractors, not misclassified “employees,” under the Massachusetts Independent Contractor...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently affirmed a decision that a group of franchisees are not employees of their franchisor, even though the trial court failed to apply the correct test. Haitayan v. 7-Eleven, Inc., 2022...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently issued three decisions with significant implications for employers in the commonwealth, holding that (1) when an employer pays wages to an employee after the deadlines...more
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court just held that 7-Eleven franchisees may be employees of 7-Eleven under Massachusetts wage and hour law. The March 24 decision in Dhananjay Patel v. 7-Eleven, Inc. will have significant...more
On December 13, 2021, the highest state court in Massachusetts ruled that the proper test for determining joint employer status under the state’s wage and overtime statutes is the “totality of the circumstances” test formerly...more
Recently we discussed the headwinds that remain for the franchise community as a result of policy changes coming from Washington and the various state capitols. What should franchisors consider as they swim in this sea of...more
The California version of the ABC test is arguably the most hostile to franchising. Nonetheless, the risk is not confined to California. This is because the ABC employee classification test, with variations, has been...more
It was predictable – even inevitable – that the Biden administration would reverse much of Trump’s labor oeuvre. But no one could have predicted how quickly! In a little more than a month, the administration has:...more
Change is coming, but will it be a welcome change or a harbinger of woe? Over the last 8 years or so, the ever-changing landscape of employment laws has arguably posed an existential threat to franchising. The franchise...more
For generations of small business owners franchising serves as a successful business model. Under this paradigm a franchisor grants a franchisee a license to use the franchisor’s trademark and business concept in exchange for...more
From a ballot measure in California, to a court decision in Massachusetts, to federal regulations proposed by the Department of Labor, several recent developments could impact whether a franchisor’s independent franchisees...more
BB&K Partner Thomas O'Connell Explores the Independent Contractor Law's Impact on the Franchise Industry in a Southern California Newspaper Group Column - In enacting Assembly Bill 5 earlier this year, the California...more
Seeking to tighten worker misclassification enforcement in New Jersey, on January 20, 2020, Governor Phil Murphy signed into law a package of legislation to add misclassification penalties, allow stop-work orders against...more
The battle over the scope and applicability of the so-called “ABC test” in determining California employers’ potential liability under wage and hour and other state labor laws continues unabated....more
“Someday, California is going to disappear into the ocean.” That phrase usually refers to the San Andreas Fault. But for those in the franchise industry, it may now refer to AB-5, a new California law that calls for...more
On September 18, 2020, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a new measure — Assembly Bill 5 — which will redefine how businesses classify their workers. Commonly known as “AB 5,” the new law seeks to codify the “ABC Test”...more
The Ninth Circuit sent shockwaves through the franchise industry in ruling that last year’s California Supreme Court decision broadening who may bring wage misclassification claims (Dynamex v. Superior Court) applied...more
On May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int’l, Inc. held that the California Supreme Court’s 2018 decision in Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court applied retroactively. ...more
On May 2, 2019, the Ninth Circuit issued a ruling that has wide implications for California franchisors who rely on independent contractor relationships. In a unanimous decision, the Ninth Circuit held that the more rigid ABC...more
JANITORIAL FRANCHISE COMPANY SETTLES ITS APPEAL OF $4.8 MILLION JUDGMENT IN FAVOR OF MISCLASSIFIED CUSTODIANS. Coverall North America Inc. settled the independent contractor misclassification case filed against it by a class...more