Richard Reibstein Esq.

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As a leading practitioner of enhancing independent contractor compliance and defending against misclassification claims, Richard represents large and small companies in administrative and judicial matters across the country, in addition to his labor/employment and noncompete/trade secrets practices.

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This past month was the first month we can recall where there were no legal developments of note involving class action independent contractor misclassification lawsuits, which have become increasingly prevalent.  Instead, the two top cases reported below are decisions by federal appellate courts in single plaintiff IC misclassification lawsuits: one where the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit concluded that sales marketers for roofing companies had been misclassified under a Pennsylvania wage payment law, and the other where the Fifth Circuit held that a highly paid legal consultant seeking overtime pay under the federal wage and hour law had been properly classified as an IC.…

While selected states are in the midst of trying to crack down on independent contractor misclassification, the federal government is trying to clear a path and clarify the tests for independent contractor status under various federal laws.  As reported below, New Jersey last month enacted a series of laws that, among other things, increases the penalties for IC misclassification under that state’s current “ABC” test for IC status. The existing “ABC” test in New Jersey was not amended by the Legislature, despite a strong push by some legislators in New Jersey to do so, but it remains a challenging test to meet for some companies using ICs in that state.  Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department issued its new joint employer regulation in January 2020, explaining and clarifying that some of the factors previously used by courts and administrative agencies to establish joint employer status are irrelevant to that issue but highly relevant to determinations of IC status.…

Many companies that operate their businesses on an independent contractor model or supplement their workforce with ICs may be wondering if they will be impacted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s final rule on joint employer status, which was informally released today.  They are likely asking, “Does this final rule have any bearing on independent contractors?”  The answer is yes.…

The National Labor Relations Board earlier today held that a courier services company misclassified drivers as independent contractors instead of employees protected under the National Labor Relations Act.  The Board also held that the company violated the NLRA when it terminated its relationship with one of the couriers because of…