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
Gig economy workers performing food delivery services in Seattle will receive an extra $2.50 per delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic thanks to a first-in-the-nation hazard pay law unanimously passed by the City Council on...more
In its latest round of updates to a series of COVID-19 Frequently Asked Questions, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission just warned employers they cannot prevent older workers from returning to work even if they want...more
6/12/2020
/ ADEA ,
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Anti-Harassment Policies ,
Caregivers ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Pregnancy Discrimination ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Remote Working ,
Workplace Harassment Guidance
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
A federal court judge in Massachusetts just rejected Lyft’s attempt to escape the reach of Prong B of the ABC Test, indicating it was “likely” that its rideshare drivers are employees and not independent contractors. The news...more
Employers across the country got a bit of good news today as the federal government announced that the EEO-1 reporting process would be delayed by a year, with the next reporting deadline pushed to March 2021. You are now...more
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
We wrote about this issue several times in 2018, and now we may be about to get answer to a question that could prove critical to the growth—or stagnation—of the gig work labor pool: does performing gig work in between...more
The U.S. Department of Labor issued a new rule yesterday to regulate the Families First Coronavirus Relief Act (FFCRA) and the paid leave programs that just became law on April 1, 2020. We’ve digested the 124-page document...more
4/3/2020
/ Business Closures ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
EPSLA ,
Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) ,
Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
New Rules ,
Paid Leave ,
Rate of Pay ,
Required Documentation ,
Shelter-In-Place ,
Sick Leave ,
Small Business ,
Wage and Hour
Last week we gave you a seven-step action plan for how gig economy companies can respond to the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. A lot has changed in a week, so now it’s time to take a look around the industry to see how gig...more
3/16/2020
/ Compensation & Benefits ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Crisis Management ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Gig Economy ,
Health and Safety ,
Independent Contractors ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Paid Leave ,
Public Health ,
Quarantine ,
Sick Leave ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Safety
Given that the gig economy is a relatively recent phenomenon, the industry has not yet experienced some of the trials and tribulations that more-established business models have survived. Now though, for the first time, gig...more
3/5/2020
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Best Practices ,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) ,
China ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Emergency Management Plans ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
Health and Safety ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Workplace Safety
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
Fisher Phillips has assembled a cross-disciplinary taskforce of attorneys across the country to address the many employment-related issues facing employers in the wake of the COVID-19 coronavirus – especially now that the...more
3/3/2020
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Best Practices ,
Coronavirus/COVID-19 ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Discrimination ,
Employment Policies ,
Foreign Workers ,
Global Workforce ,
Health and Safety ,
Health Care Providers ,
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) ,
Healthcare Workers ,
Infectious Diseases ,
Labor Relations ,
Policies and Procedures ,
Public Health ,
Risk Management ,
Sick Leave ,
Traveling Employee ,
Wage and Hour ,
WARN Act ,
Workplace Safety
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 gig economy business just prevailed in the first round of a misclassification legal battle worth keeping your eye on. A state court judge in California rejected San Diego’s effort to use the state’s unfair competition law...more
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
Employers paid out a record $68.2 million to those alleging sexual harassment violations through the EEOC in 2019, shattering the all-time record by over $10 million and reminding us all that the #MeToo movement continues to...more
1/29/2020
/ #MeToo ,
ADEA ,
Civil Rights Act ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Labor Law Violations ,
Sexual Harassment ,
Strategic Enforcement Plan ,
Title VII ,
Wage and Hour
Now that we know that the Kansas City Chiefs will be playing the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl LIV in a few weeks, it’s time to assess whether this annual American tradition will create any workplace issues for your...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
The U.S. Department of Labor just finalized its rule that attempts to limit the scope of joint employment liability for wage and hour matters. Although much remains to be seen, this rule may usher in a new era, and could lead...more
1/14/2020
/ Corporate Counsel ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Labor Laws ,
Final Rules ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Joint Employers ,
Labor Regulations ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Rules ,
Wage and Hour ,
Work Schedules
As readers of this blog know, three separate groups have filed lawsuits seeking to block or overturn California’s AB-5, the new law that raises the bar to make it very difficult for businesses to classify workers as...more
1/8/2020
/ ABC Test ,
Commercial Truck Drivers ,
Dynamex ,
Employee Definition ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Motor Carriers ,
Preemption ,
TRO ,
Trucking Industry
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