#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
Last month, the most significant legal development in the area of independent contractor (IC) compliance and misclassification was on Capitol Hill. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, a Senate Republican who chairs the Senate Health,...more
Welcome to our blog series about new California employment laws affecting a wide range of businesses and employers. California already presents one of the most difficult legal landscapes for employers, and with several new...more
The 2024 California legislative session saw the passage of a number of new and important labor and employment laws...more
Seattle continues to expand protections for app-based workers (sometimes referred to as “gig workers”) working within the City of Seattle with its new App-Based Worker Deactivation Rights Ordinance....more
As we move into 2025, California continues its trend of enacting progressive and comprehensive labor and employment laws. The new legislative updates span a range of critical issues, including whistleblowing, discrimination,...more
With the Governor’s September 30 deadline to sign bills behind us, we review the employment bills that made the cut to become laws, as well as those that didn’t survive the season. The most notable new laws read...more
Continuing a years’ long trend of extensive alterations to workplace laws, New York State and New York City continued to enact new workplace legislation impacting employers. A substantial number of enacted bills in the past...more
A new year always brings updates in state employment laws and 2024 will be no exception. Below is a review of the laws going into effect in Illinois. All laws will be effective January 1, 2024 unless otherwise indicated....more
For employers, the use of independent contractors to assist in business operations is an important option. Contractors typically provide flexibility and cost savings as they don’t receive overtime pay or employee...more
Thanks to powerful lobbying, last week the House of Representatives introduced a new bipartisan bill, the Worker Flexibility and Choice Act (the “Act”). This bill provides for a new classification of workers in between...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: On April 7, 2020, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Economic Development (“EOHED”) issued its updated COVID-19 Essential Services FAQs, providing more details on what is and what is not...more
2019 brought a number of important changes in the law that warrant the attention of New York employers. Start off the new year right and ensure your calendars are up to date by including the 2020 effective dates of these New...more
We reported last year about the importance of a new retirement system for the gig economy. Typical gig workers are currently not entitled to enjoy a traditional employer-based retirement plan because the law only permits such...more
Philadelphia is about to become the first city in the country to approve legislation that would create a portable bank of paid time off for domestic workers. And it could create the model for a similar blueprint that would...more
As we reported just a few weeks ago, Congress has begun to gather information and consider the “future of work,” with considerable emphasis on the role of the gig economy. Although this emergency economy is growing rapidly,...more
Lawmakers have begun to hold a series of hearings to discuss the “future of work,” and it may be no surprise that the two political parties have differing ideas about how that should impact the gig economy. The House...more
The New Jersey Legislature appears poised to pass S67, the Portable Benefits Act for Independent Contractors, in the upcoming lame-duck session. If passed, the Governor is expected to sign the bill before the end of the year....more
Perhaps the biggest news coming out of California’s Legislature this year was the passage of Assembly Bill 5 – the new law that codifies the 2018 Dynamex case and which imposes a new test for determining employee or...more
On September 18, 2019, Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 5, which clarifies when workers should be considered “employees” under the California Labor Code and the California Unemployment Insurance Code,...more
As I wrote previously, it is no secret that labor laws have been unable to keep pace with the changing economy, despite challenges from the bench to address the needs of the gig economy. Certain state legislatures (e.g....more
One of the drawbacks of entering the gig economy as a worker is that gig businesses are somewhat hamstrung by current law from providing a raft of benefits usually associated with full-time employment. That’s because...more
While much of the attention this midterm election has been focused on Congress and federal issues - the “blue wave” and a “referendum” on the Trump presidency - California employers know all too well that employment and labor...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
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
Worker misclassification is one of the biggest issues facing businesses in the gig space and elsewhere. As the demand for gig workers increases, businesses are thinking of creative ways to hire and retain great talent....more