The Burr Broadcast: New Independent Contractor Rule
Many businesses rely on independent contractors to stay flexible, control costs, and meet fluctuating demand, but misclassifying those workers can carry massive financial consequences. On July 17, 2025, the Fourth Circuit...more
Businesses that rely on freelancers or the “gig economy” have cause for optimism now that the Department of Labor just announced it will no longer enforce a Biden-era final rule that made it harder to classify workers as...more
On January 14, 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit ruled in Walkingstick Dixon v. Oklahoma Regional University System Board of Regents that the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) permits actions against...more
As discussed in our QuickStudy of January 9, the U.S. Department of Labor has issued its long-awaited final rule setting forth its version of the test for independent contractor status under the federal Fair Labor Standards...more
It has been well over a year since the U.S. Department of Labor issued its proposed rule entitled “Employee or Independent Contractor Classification under the Fair Labor Standards Act.” The regulation was expressly intended...more
On October 11, 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor released a proposed rule to update the test for determining whether a worker is an employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) or an independent contractor. FLSA...more
Any business that retains independent contractors as part of their workforce may have a harder time maintaining their business model under a proposed rule that the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) just released yesterday. The...more
Reversing summary judgment in favor of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the Eighth Circuit has held that jury questions exist as to whether the defendant employed drivers who provide non-emergency medical transport...more
On March 11, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL” or “the Department”) announced proposals to roll back two Trump administration regulations under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA” or “the Act”)....more
On February 19, 2021, the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division withdrew its opinion letter that indicated gig economy workers who offer services in a virtual marketplace are independent contractors. The Wage and Hour...more
On January 7, 2021, the federal Department of Labor (DOL) published its final rule for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). According to...more
On January 6, 2021, the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced its Final Rule to provide guidance on determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). ...more
Gig economy companies across the country had a whirlwind September, as legal developments impacting their business models continued to unfold. Here are the five most significant workplace law developments in the gig economy...more
For decades, companies have wrestled with whether certain workers must be treated as employees subject to various employment laws and company rules or whether they are appropriately classified as independent contractors with...more
Muddy Waters is how you want your blues, not how you want your laws. A federal district judge in New York yesterday kicked up a lot of mud in an area of the law that had finally seen some clarity – the definition of “joint...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
In an opinion letter issued April 29, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division concluded that a “virtual marketplace company” (“VMC”) that connects service providers with consumers is not the employer of...more
At the forefront of mind of every gig economy company is the troublesome question of whether its workers are properly classified as independent contractors. Just search our blog for cases involving “misclassification” and...more
Ruling In Favor Of Independent Contractor Status Provides Boost To Gig Economy - A federal appeals court in New York handed a massive victory to a car service enterprise yesterday, ruling that a group of workers...more
On January 25, 2017, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit established a new six-factor test to determine whether two or more entities are joint employers for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). ...more
Many companies engage staffing agencies to supply temporary, or even permanent, workers to support their operations. Such arrangements offer a variety of benefits, allowing employers to nimbly adjust the size of their...more
In May 2016, the Fourth Circuit applied a six-part, economic realities test to determine that two Maryland dance clubs had misclassified their exotic dancers as independent contractors. This case is important for several...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: NLRB claims that employers violate Section 8(a)(1) of the NLRA by misclassifying employees as independent contractors, thereby restraining and coercing employees in the exercise of their rights guaranteed...more
It may not be well-known that the Family Medical Leave Act (“FMLA”) provides for individual, as well as corporate liability. Therefore, in a matter of importance to Human Resources personnel, supervisors, and their employers,...more
In a recent article, I warned all employers that government agencies are out to bust them for misclassifying their employees as independent contractors. The prior article discussed the efforts made by the United States...more