#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
Unless you were in the health care industry, July 2025 was a relatively slow month for judicial developments in the law of independent contractor (IC) misclassification and compliance. Only two significant IC cases came to...more
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
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
The European Union took a big step last year towards regulating digital labor platforms – and member states will need to adopt the new directive before the end of 2026. The directive seeks to curb worker misclassification,...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
Every new year brings changes to the employment laws applicable to New York State and New York City employers. In this article, we review the key employment laws that went into effect in 2024 and highlight some of the new and...more
Recent amendments to the Fair Work Act 2009 (Cth) establishing a new "whole-of-relationship test" increase the likelihood that Australian businesses will face claims of "sham contracting" by misclassifying employees as...more
In the spirit of the season, we are using our annual "12 Days of California Labor and Employment" blog series to address new California laws and their impact on employers. On the fifth day of the holidays, my labor and...more
Approved legislation covers topics from paid leave to freelance work, driver's license discrimination to intersectionality discrimination, a "captive audience" ban to social compliance audits, with other laws specifically...more
On September 28, 2024, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill (SB) No. 988, the Freelance Worker Protection Act (FWPA). The FWPA provides minimum requirements for agreements between freelance workers and...more
The California state legislature recently enacted several laws that impact the relationship between employers and their respective work forces. The below is a quick update on these recent changes to the California employment...more
Effective August 28, 2024, companies that engage independent contractors in the state of New York must now comply with New York’s “Freelance Isn’t Free” Act (the Act), a statute that imposes a range of new requirements...more
On August 7, 2024, the City of Los Angeles unveiled its “Model Contract” under the Freelance Workers Protections Ordinance (FWPO). This ordinance, which took effect on July 1, 2023, was designed to bolster protections for...more
Originally effective in New York City from May 15, 2017, the New York Freelance Isn’t Free Act will now expand its protections to freelance workers across the entire state, effective August 28, 2024. This updated legislation...more
On June 12, 2024, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) issued a new Determination Pursuant to Section 1 (a)(ii) of Executive Order 14071 (the “Determination”) that prohibits U.S....more
On August 4, 2023, Illinois became the first state to adopt statutory protections for freelance workers when Governor JB Pritzker signed the Freelance Worker Protection Act (the “Act”). The Act took effect on July 1, 2024....more
Governor Tim Walz has signed into law significant changes to Minnesota’s independent contractor and employment laws. Effective July 1, all employers, as well as their owners, risk significantly increased penalties for...more
Many companies with independent contractors working in Oregon recently received correspondence from the Oregon Department of Justice’s Division of Child Support (“Division”) reminding them of new reporting obligations with...more
Vetoed in 2022, subsequently signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul last year, and rolled out with a delay, New York State's Freelance Isn't Free Act (FIFA) finally goes into effect on August 28, 2024. The legislation is...more
This post is a summary of a more detailed Client Alert prepared by Gray Reed’s labor and employment practice group. Recall our recent post on the Department of Labor’s new “Economic Realities Test” for classifying...more
Introduction - After receiving over 55,000 comments regarding the proposed rule introduced in 2022, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) finalized a new independent contractor test under the Fair Labor Standards Act...more
On January 10, 2024, the U.S. Department of Labor (“Department”) published a final rule (“Final Rule”) for determining independent contractor status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The Final Rule rescinds the...more
The Department of Labor recently made key changes to its rules in a way that will affect the oil and gas sector. The new rule rescinds a Trump Administration rule that had simplified the process of classifying workers as...more
Fulfilling a campaign promise for President Joe Biden, the United States Department of Labor (DOL) sent employers New Year’s greetings by opening 2024 with a new final rule on independent contractor classifications, revising...more
On January 9, 2024, the United States Department of Labor’s (DOL) Wage and Hour Division (WHD) announced a final rule regarding how to determine whether a worker qualifies as an employee or may be considered an independent...more