#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
On April 3, 2025, the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (“DOL”) filed proposed new rules codifying its interpretation of the statutory ABC test to determine whether an individual is considered an...more
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
The most significant development last month in the law of independent contractors was not one of the four cases we summarize below but rather a bill passed by the New York Senate. ...more
Q: Is New York City considering a total ban on noncompete agreements? A: Yes — a total ban on noncompete agreements would be the result of one of the three noncompete bills currently pending in the New York City Council,...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
In 2016, New York City enacted the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, a local law establishing protections for certain freelance workers providing services for entities located in the City. Earlier this month, the New York State...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
I get it. My last name is Kim. My appearance, as those of you who haven’t met me can tell by my photo, confirms it. It’s obvious I’m Asian-American and particularly of Korean descent. So I get why everyone assumes I’ve seen...more
Proposed New York Legislation - In his 2020 budget proposal, Governor Andrew Cuomo proposed creating a 9-member marketplace worker classification task force to address seismic changes to the way independent contractors and...more
Soon after being elected, New Jersey’s Governor created a task force to end misclassification of independent contractors, and the state’s Department of Labor and Workforce Development (DOL) began increasing audits and its...more
Seyfarth Synopsis: The New Jersey bill that aims to push gig-economy workers and other independent contractors into the definition of “employees” was briefly paused at the end of the prior legislative session, but is expected...more
On January 2, 2020, the Attorney General for the State of California released the title and summary of Initiative 19-0026—a proposed ballot measure that would overturn the state’s recently enacted independent contractor law,...more
On November 20, 2019, the Supreme Court of California announced it would review and decide whether its 2018 Dynamex decision has retroactive effect. The answer to this question could have a profound impact on any company...more
Recently, New Jersey took several steps to severely restrict the use of independent contractors or gig workers in the Garden state. The latest effort is Bill S4204, which creates a presumption of employment status for...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
Seyfarth Synopsis: California’s hotly contested and closely followed AB 5 independent contractor bill, which would extend the ABC test beyond Wage Order claims, just passed the California Senate, and now heads back to the...more
As of September 11, 2019, the California Senate and Assembly had both passed an employment bill (AB5) that, if signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, would codify the recent extension of employment protections to workers previously...more
This article is an update to prior publications from Littler’s Workplace Policy Institute regarding Assembly Bill 5 (AB 5), passed by the California legislature on September 11, 2019. On September 11, 2019,1 the California...more
After months of debate and negotiations, the California State Legislature passed the controversial AB 5 on Wednesday, September 11, 2019, bringing it one step closer to being law. If passed, the new law is expected to impact...more
On Friday, August 30, 2019, the California State Senate Appropriations Committee approved controversial legislation—Assembly Bill 5 (A.B. 5)—that would potentially reclassify millions of independent contractors as “employees”...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