#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
The New Jersey Department of Labor and Industry (the Department) announced on April 28, 2025, that it was filing a notice of a proposed regulation addressing the test for independent contractor (IC) status under New Jersey...more
Few federal regulations over the past five years have produced more needless concern by stakeholders than the independent contractor rules under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) issued by the different...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
For employers doing business in New York, the “Freelance Isn’t Free” Act (the “Act”) signed into law by Governor Kathy Hochul in March of this year may have stirred up memories of the New York City ordinance enacted just a...more
The nation continues to move to less-traditional employment relationships. As a consequence, the importance and impact of freelance workers (i.e., “independent contractors” or those compensated on an IRS 1099 Form) should not...more
On November 22, 2023, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed the Freelance Isn’t Free Act (the “State Act”), Senate Bill S5026. This new law (codified as a new Section 191-d of the New York Labor Law) will require written...more
Key Takeaways - Gov. Hochul vetoed the Freelance Isn’t Free Act. Gov. Hochul vetoed the State Contractor Equal Pay Disclosure bill. New Versions of both bills may be reintroduced in next year’s legislative...more
California employers will be pleased to learn that the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals recently held that a retail store reasonably believed that a freelance model who worked in irregular one- or two-day periods was not an...more
Executive Summary: Effective October 1, 2021, Florida businesses will be required to submit new hire information for their independent contractors to the Florida Department of Revenue. This is a significant change for...more
Florida has imposed a substantial new reporting requirement on employers and businesses who utilize independent contractors. Businesses need to be prepared; the new requirement takes effect October 1, 2021....more
On July 8, 2021, N.J. Governor Phil Murphy signed a package of bills expanding the power of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOLWD) to enforce state wage, benefit and tax laws, and enhancing penalties for...more
Governor Jim Justice recently signed into law Senate Bill 272, the West Virginia Employment Law Workers Classification Act (the “Act”), which goes into effect on June 9, 2021. The legislation provides standards for...more
The California Supreme Court held on January 14, 2021, that its landmark Dynamex decision, which established a rigid standard under California law for companies to classify workers as independent contractors, and later was...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
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
On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court held in Vazquez v. Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l, Inc. that the ABC test for determining worker classification fashioned in its groundbreaking decision, Dynamex v. Superior...more
Since April 2018, when the California Supreme Court issued its Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018) decision, which radically changed the way in which courts differentiated between an...more
For many years, worker classification has been an ongoing battle in California. The issue of employee vs. independent contractor has spurred many lawsuits statewide, resulted in countless precedent-setting decisions, and led...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses operating in California have had all of eight months to adapt since Assembly Bill 5, a landmark piece of legislation governing their relationships with independent contractors, took effect on...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: Businesses operating in California have had all of eight months to adapt since Assembly Bill 5 (“AB 5”), a landmark piece of legislation governing their relationships with independent contractors, took...more
We have written frequently here about AB5, California’s controversial law that creates an “ABC” test that must be satisfied in order for a worker to be treated as an independent contractor. ...more
On August 31, 2020, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 2257. If signed by Governor Newsom, AB 2257 would exempt several categories of workers from the stringent requirements of the ABC Test under Assembly Bill 5...more
AB 5, California’s sweeping and landmark independent contractor law, became effective on January 1, 2020. By January 6, bills were already being introduced to amend the law. At one time, more than 30 such bills were...more
I was able to virtually attend a session of Albany Law School’s 2020 Warren M. Anderson Legislative Seminar Series last week on “The Gig Economy,” bringing together some of the nation’s foremost thought leaders on the subject...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