It was just a matter of time. After the Supreme Court cleared the way for businesses to use class waivers with their employees and contractors with the Epic Systems ruling this past May, many observers expected that the...more
9/26/2018
/ Appeals ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Class Action ,
Class Action Arbitration Waivers ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Dismissals ,
Drivers ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
NLRA ,
Ridesharing ,
Uber ,
Wage and Hour
It’s hard to keep up with all the recent changes to labor and employment law. While the law always seems to evolve at a rapid pace, there have been an unprecedented number of changes for the past few years—and this past month...more
9/17/2018
/ Anti-Discrimination Policies ,
Appeals ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Background Checks ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Collective Action Waivers ,
Consumer Credit Reporting Agencies Act (CCRAA) ,
Department of Labor (DOL) ,
Employee Benefits ,
Employee Training ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Contract ,
Employment Litigation ,
Employment Policies ,
Enforcement Actions ,
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) ,
Failed Legislation ,
Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) ,
Federal Contractors ,
Freedom of Religion ,
Gender-Based Pay Discrimination ,
Gig Economy ,
Governor Baker ,
Governor Brown ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) ,
Licenses ,
Misclassification ,
New Legislation ,
Non-Compete Agreements ,
OFCCP ,
Opinion Letter ,
Opioid ,
Over-Time ,
Pay Gap ,
Pending Legislation ,
Portable Benefits ,
Restrictive Covenants ,
Ridesharing ,
Right to Work ,
Sexual Harassment ,
State Labor Laws ,
Union Dues ,
Unions ,
Wage and Hour ,
Workplace Injury
When the Supreme Court decided this May that businesses were permitted to enter into class waiver agreements with employees and contractors, forcing them into individual arbitration proceedings over workplace disputes rather...more
While businesses, chambers of commerce, local leaders, and others have put the full-court press on the California legislature to take action to somehow lessen the impact of the new ABC Test for determining misclassification...more
We can safely say that one of the biggest supporters of the gig economy is Virginia Senator Mark Warner (D). Back in 2016, he advocated for the Labor Department to update its statistics to help us get better insight into the...more
A New York judge recently rejected an employer’s attempt to force an employment claim into arbitration due to a poor choice of wording in the written agreement. The August 7 decision might draw attention because of the...more
8/20/2018
/ American Arbitration Association ,
Arbitration ,
Arbitration Agreements ,
Binding Arbitration ,
Employment Litigation ,
Harassment ,
Jurisdiction ,
Mandatory Arbitration Clauses ,
Pre-Employment Agreements ,
Trump Administration ,
Written Agreements
We’ve been asking for increased regulation of the gig economy, and we got it – just not the kind of regulation businesses were hoping for. While gig businesses are craving a modern regulatory approach to misclassification...more
8/10/2018
/ Drivers ,
Freelance Workers ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Licenses ,
Mayor de Blasio ,
Minimum Wage ,
New Legislation ,
Ridesharing ,
Traffic Laws ,
Transportation Industry ,
Wage and Hour
There has been a burst of recent Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) decisions from around the country that can teach valuable lessons to employers. Last month, we looked at three cases examining the question of whether an...more
8/9/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Appeals ,
Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Disability Discrimination ,
Dismissals ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Essential Functions ,
Job Descriptions ,
Job Duties ,
Over-Time ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour
Although the document itself is fairly dense and complex, specifically focusing on the home-care registry industry, the Labor Department’s latest field assistance bulletin could provide a helpful clue to gig economy companies...more
You remember the game-changing, earth-shattering, monumental decision from the California Supreme Court a few months ago that fundamentally changes the test to determine whether your workers are independent contractors or...more
7/20/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
Late yesterday, President Trump selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court (SCOTUS) bench. Assuming he is confirmed by the Senate, Justice Kavanaugh would solidify the pro-business bloc of...more
Interpreting and applying the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is often among the most challenging aspects of managing the workplace law and human resources functions at your workplace. There are numerous issues to...more
7/5/2018
/ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ,
Disability ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Human Resources Professionals ,
Interactive Process ,
Medical Leave ,
Over-Time ,
Reasonable Accommodation ,
Wage and Hour
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy’s announcement of his impending retirement, effective the end of next month, provides President Trump with the opportunity to reshape the Court in a manner not seen in decades. If the...more
Sure, there have been some high-profile legal setbacks for gig economy businesses in the area of misclassification lately; the Dynamex case was a punch in the gut for California businesses, and the Pimlico Plumbers case is a...more
6/27/2018
/ Appeals ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employment Litigation ,
Former Employee ,
Gig Economy ,
Hiring & Firing ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Reversal ,
Right to Control ,
Unemployment ,
Unemployment Insurance
It’s impossible to ignore the reverberations that continue to shake the business landscape after the landmark April 30 Dynamex ruling introduced the notorious ABC test to the California gig economy industry. For those living...more
It’s a small step, but at least it’s progress. Federal regulators made it easier this week for gig workers to obtain health insurance on a more cost-effective basis, which should help to shore up the ranks of gig workers and...more
Headlines from mainstream news outlets are reporting that today’s Labor Department report on Contingent and Alternative Employment Arrangements shows that the gig economy is shrinking. “The gig economy is actually smaller...more
Now that sports betting has been legalized by the Supreme Court, I might want to consider laying some action on an upcoming game, because I am on fire with my recent predictions. In a blog post from last week, I correctly...more
5/16/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Gig Economy ,
GrubHub ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Reimbursements ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
In a rare procedural move that caught many by surprise, the National Labor Relations Board announced on Wednesday that it will soon start the rulemaking process to clarify the current joint employment standard. Perhaps...more
The ink on the Dynamex court decision is barely dry, but plaintiffs’ attorneys are not wasting any time in taking advantage of the new misclassification standard established for California businesses. In a pair of lawsuits...more
5/11/2018
/ ABC Test ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Class Action ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Wage and Hour
Late Friday afternoon, the attorneys for the worker who came out on the losing end of the Grubhub misclassification trial asked the appeals court to return the case to the lower court for a new hearing. Their reasoning? Last...more
5/8/2018
/ ABC Test ,
Appeals ,
CA Supreme Court ,
Corporate Counsel ,
Delivery Drivers ,
Employee Definition ,
Employer Liability Issues ,
Employment Litigation ,
Gig Economy ,
GrubHub ,
Independent Contractors ,
Misclassification ,
Motion to Remand ,
Restaurant Industry ,
Retroactive Application ,
Wage and Hour
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has lowered the bar when it comes to the type of evidence plaintiffs need to present in order to have their claims certified as a class action. The federal appeals court panel ruled that...more
May the 4th has become known as Star Wars Day given the movie franchise’s most famous tag line. Today provides an opportunity for us to examine a recent employment law development of massive significance—a great disturbance...more
19th-century British poet Alfred Tennyson once said, “In the Spring, a young man’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of love.” And while you might hold a certain amount of affection for your employees this time of year and want...more
My colleague Ashton Riley described it as the “contractor apocalypse.” As I said for an interview in the New York Times, “It’s a massive thing – definitely a game-changer that will force everyone to take a fresh look at the...more