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
The following comments were submitted by Richard J. Reibstein, the publisher of this legal blog, critiquing the proposed regulation of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Industry (the Department) regarding the so-called...more
In a refreshing break for business in the Bay State, two recent appellate court decisions have confirmed that legitimate independent contractor relationships are alive and well in Massachusetts. Those decisions are Patel, et...more
Businesses will soon find it harder to classify workers as independent contractors thanks to key changes made by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) today. The Biden administration officially rescinded a rule that made it...more
Remarkably, Mr. Foxworthy’s name comes up frequently when talking about whether workers have been properly classified as independent contractors. Not because there is anything funny about that issue; there isn’t. And not...more
On Tuesday, June 13, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB or the “Board”) issued a decision that effectively increases the number of workers who are considered employees rather than independent contractors under the...more
Three of the five court cases of note in this monthly update involve California’s Assembly Bill 5, which has exponentially increased litigation involving independent contractor misclassification in that state. That...more
Interested parties now have until December 13, 2022, to provide comments to the DOL’s proposed rule to codify a six-factor, economic reality test to determine who is an “independent contractor” under the Fair Labor Standards...more
The U.S. Department of Labor yesterday announced a Proposed Rule on the test to determine whether a worker should be classified as an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. The DOL will...more
Earlier today, the Biden Administration’s Labor Department 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
The saga continues for companies that rely on a gig economy business model as the federal government just challenged a court order that recently restored a Trump-era rule that makes it easier to classify workers as...more
On March 17, Rover—a digital application connecting pet owners with daily pet-care providers—argued to the Ninth Circuit that it should uphold a California federal judge’s finding that a dog-sitter was properly classified as...more
Massachusetts is one of handful of states to have adopted the stringent “ABC” test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee. That has made it one of the most fertile battlegrounds over this...more
As gig economy businesses – and other employers that implement gig-like workforce models – gear up for a new year, it’s natural to look ahead and begin to set expectations for what the road ahead might bring. We’ve scoured...more
On September 20, 2021, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed Grubhub, Inc.’s lower court victory in a class action case involving the alleged misclassification of a former driver. The driver claimed he was...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
On May 6, 2021, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew proposed rules set by the Trump Administration, which were originally intended to revise the test for classifying workers as independent contractors at the...more
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, in California Trucking Association v. Bonta, has reversed the preliminary injunction staying enforcement of AB 5 (now Labor Code § 2775). ...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
Q: Does the “ABC test” for independent contractor status in the state of California apply retroactively? ...more
Employers may be disappointed to learn that the Department of Labor’s recently issued rule clarifying the definition of “independent contractor” will likely no longer go into effect on March 8th, 2021. On January 20th, the...more
Last November, California voters convincingly (almost 60% supporting) enacted Proposition 22. This Proposition was a well-funded effort that allows gig drivers working for companies like Uber, Lyft and Doordash to avoid the...more
On November 3, 2020, California voters approved Proposition 22, a ballot initiative defining app-based transportation and delivery drivers as independent contractors and adopting specific labor and wage policies for these...more
On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court held that the “ABC Test” for classifying workers as independent contractors applies retroactively. The high court first articulated this standard, which makes it tougher for...more
With no clear guidance and different factors being given different weight by different courts, employers have struggled for years with whether workers can be properly classified as independent contractors, rather than...more
It was quite a week for the gig economy in California. This is the second of a two-part update; last week we reported on a union- and driver-led California Supreme Court challenge to Proposition 22, the November 2020 voter...more