Shortly after the issuance of the Supreme Court’s decision earlier today in New Prime Inc. v. Oliveira, some commentators have referred to it as a watershed opinion preserving the right of workers including independent contractors to have their class action cases heard in court instead of before an arbitrator. Others…

As reported six months ago in an article in the E&P Journal, the oil and gas industry is one of those that is under attack by plaintiffs’ class action lawyers filing independent contractor misclassification lawsuits. My colleagues Bill Swanstrom and Mike Rose joined me then in commenting on some…

There were only a handful of independent contractor misclassification cases of significance in December and each of those matters relates to the subject of prior comprehensive posts on this blog.

The first involved FedEx Ground, which has paid hundreds of millions of dollars to settle dozens of class action lawsuits…

While there were no headline-grabbing cases or developments in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance during the past month, the first four court decisions reported below provide the basis for two useful strategies for companies to consider when using an independent contractor business model or supplementing their workforces…

This blog post is based on an article published in the Daily Labor Report (November 9, 2018). It is reproduced with permission from Daily Labor Report Copyright 2018 by The Bloomberg Bureau of National Affairs, Inc. (800.372.1033) www.bna.com.

Even before the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last May in Epic …

October was an eventful month for legal developments in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance.  In one of the nine cases reported below, the U.S. Department of Labor continues to aggressively pursue an independent contractor misclassification claim against a franchisor in the cleaning contracting industry.  In that case,…

Independent contractor misclassification lawsuits swept across a swath of businesses last month, affecting companies in both the gig economy and traditional industries.  Discussed below are class action and individual plaintiff cases involving on-demand dog walkers, community living support specialists, oil field workers, cable installers, truckers, ride-share drivers, and exotic dancers.…

It was only a matter of time.  For many years, class action lawyers have filed thousands of lawsuits under wage / hour and other employment laws on behalf of individuals who allege they were employees who have been misclassified as independent contractors. Unions have likewise been prominently involved in challenging…

August 2018 was a busy month in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance, including a number of new court filings and decisions, new regulatory initiatives, and new legislation. While none of these matters were  blockbuster developments, they do provide an important message for businesses that use ICs.

One…

Last month was notable for a number of judicial and administrative decisions against companies defending independent contractor misclassification claims.  In one case, the plaintiff seeks to use the company’s statements in its filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to establish IC misclassification.  This strategy is an example of…