Way back in October 2022, we discussed the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) issuance of a notice of new rule that would substantially change the test for whether a worker is an employee, and thus covered by the minimum wage and overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), or is an independent contractor, … Continue Reading
On October 11, 2022, the Wage and Hour Division of the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would make it more difficult for employers to properly classify workers as independent contractors under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).… Continue Reading
On 9 December, the European Commission published draft Guidelines on the application of EU competition law to collective agreements on the working conditions of solo self-employed people providing services. The draft Guidelines are the product of an initial impact assessment published this time last year and a subsequent consultation with stakeholders from March to May. … Continue Reading
Welcome to the 2021 Year-End Edition of the State Law Round-Up! Due to the large number of updates, we will be splitting this State Law Round-Up into two parts, with each part organized alphabetically by state; today we will cover the first half of the alphabet, and tomorrow the remainder. Two exceptions: First – Minimum … Continue Reading
On February 19, 2021, the US Department of Labor’s (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division (“WHD”) withdrew two Trump-era opinion letters. The first, FLSA2019-6, discussed whether a service provider for a virtual marketplace company (“VMC”) is an independent contractor or an employee subject to the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The second, FLSA2019-10, involved the compensability … Continue Reading
The range of employers who may be liable for the misclassification of workers just got bigger. On January 14, 2021, the California Supreme Court decided that the decision in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court (2018) 4 Cal.5th 903 (Dynamex) applies retroactively to all non-final cases that predate the April 2018 Dynamex decision. Dynamex … Continue Reading
On January 6, 2021, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a final rule clarifying the standard under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor versus an employee. This distinction in critical under the FLSA, as employers must comply with its minimum wage and overtime requirements for employees, … Continue Reading
On September 22, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed regulations aimed at codifying the classification of independent contractors under federal wage and hour law. If adopted—and the DOL has indicated it plans to fast-track the rulemaking process in order to issue final regulations by January 2021—the rule change would significantly relax the … Continue Reading
January 10, 2020 Update to AB 5 Challenges Trucking Industry: On Wednesday, January 8, 2020, a California state court ruled that AB 5 does not apply to the trucking industry because the state statute is preempted by federal law. This state court ruling lays a solid foundation for the federal court hearing on the trucking industry’s … Continue Reading
Between August 29 and September 10, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB” or “Board”) issued four decisions that resolve important issues that have been the subject of long-running disputes. It also issued an invitation to submit briefs in a case that provides an opportunity for the current Board majority members to revise the standard for … Continue Reading
AB 5, and its “ABC test,” expected to have greatest impact in “gig economy” jobs, but impact certain to be even more widely felt After a summer of lobbying and debating, the California Assembly adopted AB 5, a headline-grabbing law purporting to transform the status of gig-economy workers at companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash. … Continue Reading
It’s been an active few weeks since our last State Law Round-Up in mid-April 2019, with a number of bills being signed into new laws and case developments impacting employers in many US states over the past few weeks. Colorado Failure to Pay Wages as Theft Effective January 1, 2020, an employer’s failure to pay … Continue Reading
In a recently-released Advice Memorandum dated April 16, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board’s (“NLRB”) Office of the General Counsel (“GC”) determined that drivers utilizing Uber Technologies’ smartphone application-based rideshare platform are independent contractors, not employees, under the National Labor Relations Act (“NLRA”). In arriving at this conclusion, the GC utilized the independent contractor test … Continue Reading
On Monday, April 29, 2019, the United States Department of Labor (“DOL”) Wage and Hour Division issued an opinion letter in response to an inquiry from an anonymous “virtual marketplace company” (“VMC”) concerning whether individuals who provide services through the VMC (“service providers”) are employees or are independent contractors for purposes of federal wage and … Continue Reading
On January 25, 2019, the National Labor Relations Board returned in yet another area to a standard that existed before the “Obama Board.” In SuperShuttle DFW, Inc., the Board vacated the test it had adopted five years ago to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee for the purposes of the … Continue Reading
We’ve been keeping you apprised of the many developments over the past few years coming from the United States Supreme Court and other courts concerning agreements between employers and their employees to arbitrate disputes arising out of the employment relationship. The Supreme Court’s decision last term in Epic Systems v. Lewis, which we discussed in … Continue Reading
On April 30, the California Supreme Court adopted in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court the so-called “ABC test” to determine whether individuals are employees or independent contractors for purposes of determining the applicability of California’s Wage Orders. The Wage Orders govern important employment issues including California’s unique daily overtime regimen and its requirements … Continue Reading
Uber, Lyft, Airbnb, Postmates, DoorDash. All are companies participating in what has been labeled the “gig economy,” where tasks are performed by workers on a short-term or freelance basis rather than through long-term or permanent employment. As more people participate in this new, mostly smartphone application or Internet-based work model, litigation has followed centering on … Continue Reading
On June 7, 2017, the US Department of Labor (DOL) withdrew its 2015 Administrator’s Interpretation on “independent contractor” status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and its 2016 Administrator’s Interpretation for determining “joint employment” under the FLSA. The two guidance memos specifically were intended to increase liability for employers under the Fair Labor Standards … Continue Reading
In a 35 page Order [PDF] issued on Thursday, August 18, Judge Edward M. Chen dealt a surprising blow in O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc.: he denied preliminary approval for a $100 million settlement. In no uncertain terms, Judge Chen said the current terms of the settlement are “not fair, adequate, and reasonable.” In the … Continue Reading
After years of contentious litigation, Uber Technologies Inc. has decided not to leave its fate in the hands of jurors. Instead, Uber announced on Thursday that two of the most closely watched class actions against it had settled…for $100 million. In addition to the hefty price tag, Uber made a number of concessions including: Uber … Continue Reading
Since it was launched back in 2009, Uber Technologies, Inc. has been in the national spotlight for developing and implementing its revolutionary “ridesharing” mobile application. Uber continues to appear in headlines for a multitude of reasons, many of which are desirable, and at least one of which is not: getting sued by its workforce. Despite … Continue Reading
The latest chapter in a series of lawsuits filed by temporary contract attorneys against their employing law firms was written by Judge Ronnie Abrams of the United States District Court for the District of New York. As the final seconds ticked down towards the end of 2015 last week, the clock also struck midnight on … Continue Reading
With the AFL Finals fast approaching, the office tips are bound to get a little heated! However, you may want to think twice before taking too big a punt on whether a worker in Australia is an employee or an independent contractor. In the recent appeal case of Tattsbet Limited v Morrow, the Full Court … Continue Reading
