#WorkforceWednesday: New AB5 Exemptions, EEOC COVID-19 Updates, Joint-Employer Rule Partially Struck Down - Employment Law This Week®
Episode 13: NYC's New Freelancer Protection Law And The Future Of The On-Demand Economy
Over the closing months of 2023, New York lawmakers at both the state and local levels were busy passing new legislation impacting the workplace. As a result, New York employers should take some time to familiarize themselves...more
Although 2023 perhaps did not see the passage of any laws quite as impactful as 2022—which, as employers will recall, included New York State enacting its own pay transparency law (see here) and novel New York City Council...more
On August 4, 2023, Governor JB Pritzker signed the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA) (HB1122) into law, establishing strict protections for freelance workers. ...more
As the New York State legislative session came to a close, state lawmakers passed a flurry of laws providing protections to workers, ranging from wage protections for freelance workers, prohibitions against absence control...more
During the final days of its most recent legislative session, the New York State Legislature passed a bill (S8369B) that would mandate contractual forms and terms for businesses that use “freelance workers.” Building on New...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
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
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
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
If 2018 was a year of elevator music at the National Labor Relations Board, 2019 was symphony of sound. The Board’s initiatives were varied, high-profile and in the vast majority of cases, the developments were positives for...more
In what has become a trend over the last few years, Governor Cuomo included multiple labor and employment law proposals in the budget that, if approved, would create significant new responsibilities for New York employers,...more
Changes to New York state law that prohibit employer inquiries into the salary history of applicants and employees took effect on January 6, 2020. Recently, the New York Department of Labor released a series of Frequently...more
On Wednesday, January 15, 2020, the California Supreme Court agreed to review a second case raising questions as to the scope and retroactivity of its landmark 2018 Dynamex decision....more
The New Jersey Department of Labor (NJ DOL) billed Uber Technologies, Inc. and a subsidiary $650 million for past-due taxes, interest, and penalties due to an alleged misclassification of its drivers as independent...more
Soon after being elected, New Jersey’s Governor created a task force to end misclassification of independent contractors, and the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) began increasing audits and its...more
On November 7th a bill was introduced in the New Jersey legislature that would, like California’s AB 5..., codify a stricter version of the ABC test for determining independent contractor classification. The bill, S4204...,...more
Already a tough place for employers, New Jersey may be about to get even tougher. The Garden State is one of only a handful of states widely using the so-called ABC test, which makes it harder for businesses to classify...more
In the wake of California’s enactment of Assembly Bill (AB) 5—legislation that threatens to reclassify 2 million California independent contractors as “employees” under California labor and employment laws—legal questions...more
Businesses with operations in California have begun to identify options and implement strategies for compliance with Assembly Bill (AB) 5, which imposes the ABC test for identifying whether a worker is an independent...more
On October 13, 2019, New York City enacted Int. 136-A (“Law”), which will extend the employment protections of the New York City Human Rights Law (“NYCHRL”) to freelancers and independent contractors, thereby allowing these...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New York City Council voted to expand the anti-discrimination and retaliation provisions of the Human Rights Law to freelancers and independent contractors. The bill is awaiting the Mayor’s signature. ...more
On September 18, 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), a bill that will dramatically alter whether, and under what circumstances, businesses may classify workers as independent contractors...more
While temporary positions, such as freelancing and seasonal jobs, have been around forever, the “gig economy” – the sector of the service industry that provides flexible, non-traditional working opportunities – has grown...more
The British government announced workplace reforms yesterday (which include new legislation) that will impact employers including gig economy companies, although the reforms do not seek a “radical reworking of existing...more
Sure, the monetary portion of the settlement—$10 million to a class of approximately 400 Uber software engineers and over $2.6M in attorneys’ fees—is pretty eye-opening. But perhaps the more significant part of the settlement...more