Earlier today, April 30, 2014, New York State Labor Commissioner Peter M. Rivera issued a press release where he announced new standards for determining whether a commercial truck driver operating in New York is an employee or an independent contractor. The standards were issued in the wake of the recent
Richard Reibstein Esq.
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.
Car Services Continue to Be Hard Hit by Independent Contractor Misclassification: Next Class Action Settlement is for $3.5 Million Covering Close to 500 Drivers
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
Last Friday, April 18, 2014, Sunny’s Limousine Services, Inc. entered into a proposed class action settlement with its drivers who allege they were misclassified as independent contractors (ICs) from March 2007 until November 2011, when Sunny’s reclassified them as W-2 employees. The proposed settlement amount is $3,500,000 and is…
March 2014 Monthly Independent Contractor Compliance and Misclassification Update
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
March 2014
In the Courts
- LOGISTICS COMPANY HIT WITH $2.2 MILLION IC MISCLASSIFICATION CITATION. Pacer Cartage, which was recently acquired by logistics giant XPO, was ordered by the California Labor Commissioner’s Division of Labor Standards Enforcement (DLSE) to pay $2,214,496.39 in back pay, attorney’s fees, and interest for reportedly having
…
How to Comply with the New York Transportation Law Covering Independent Contractor Drivers, Which Becomes Effective on April 10, 2014
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
As set forth in my prior blog post, April 10, 2014 is the new effective date for compliance with the New York Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act – although many commentators have advised readers that the effective date was March 10, 2014. That effective date changed when…
FedEx Ground Settles Drivers’ Independent Contractor Misclassification Case in Maine for $5.8 Million
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
141 drivers classified as independent contractors by FedEx Ground will receive $5.8 million in settlement of their misclassification lawsuit brought under federal and Maine wage and hour laws. The amount includes their class counsels’ legal fees of $1.9 million. Scovil v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., d/b/a FedEx Home Delivery…
Governor Cuomo Signs Bill Extending Effective Date of New Independent Contractor Law in New York for Transportation and Delivery Industries
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
After months of uncertainty in the second half of 2013 and the first three months of 2014, the law of independent contractor misclassification in New York State will change in the transportation and delivery of commercial goods industry on April 10, 2014. Yesterday, March 17, 2014, Governor Andrew Cuomo signed…
Governor Cuomo Extends Effective Date of New York Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act and Signs “Technical Amendments”
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
The law of independent contractor misclassification in New York State is about to change for many companies in the business of transportation or delivery of commercial goods – but no one quite knows if it will be tomorrow or in another 30 or more days.
The new law targets transportation …
February 2014 Monthly Independent Contractor Compliance and Misclassification Update
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
February 2014
In the Courts
- FIELD TECHS IN CALIFORNIA SUE HOME SECURITY FIRM AND TELECOM GIANT FOR IC MISCLASSIFICATION. Class action complaint filed in California federal district court against Carter Brothers Security Services, LLC and AT&T by field technicians who installed home security systems and provided technical-related services. The technicians
…
The President’s 2015 Budget: No Letup in the Federal Government’s Crackdown on Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
The President’s 2015 fiscal year budget was released earlier today, March 4. The fifth of six “funding highlights” listed in the section of the Budget covering the Department of Labor is “Increasing support for agencies that protect workers’ wages and overtime pay, benefits, health and safety, and investing in preventing…
127,000 Workers Found Misclassified in 2013 by New York Regulators, According to State’s Latest Annual Task Force Report on Worker Misclassification
By Richard Reibstein Esq. on
Posted in Uncategorized
According to this year’s Annual Report of the New York State Task Force on Employee Misclassification, which was issued on February 1, 2014, the New York State Department of Labor completed in 2013 over 13,000 audits and investigations, in which nearly 127,000 workers were found to have been misclassified as…