Earlier today, the California Supreme Court established the Golden State as one of the least hospitable jurisdictions in the nation toward independent contractor status. Abandoning its decades-old common law test used to determine IC status, the California Supreme Court in Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court (No. S222732), created a
Prediction: California Supreme Court Will Re-Affirm Existing Test for Independent Contractor Status
This blog post has been superseded by the post on April 30 entitled “Independent Contractor Bombshell for California Businesses”
Tomorrow, April 30, 2018, the California Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision in a case that could change the legal test as to whether an individual is…
Uber Scores Big Win in Independent Contractor Misclassification Case
Yesterday, Uber Technologies, Inc. won a watershed case under federal and state wage laws on the issue of whether Uber drivers are independent contractors, as the company has steadfastly maintained. A federal district court in Pennsylvania granted summary judgment in favor of Uber concluding that UberBLACK limousine drivers, as a…
Insurance Industry Now Being Targeted for Independent Contractor Misclassification Lawsuits
Independent insurance sales agents have been treated as independent contractors for decades. But recently, class action lawyers have begun to target insurance companies with claims that insurers have misclassified these sales agents as ICs instead of employees. These lawsuits allege that insurance companies have violated wage and hour, employee benefit,…
March 2018 Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News Update
Last month, half of the cases that came to our attention in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance involved interesting issues concerning arbitration – and lessons for companies seeking to limit class action lawsuits by those they classify as ICs.
The first case involved an IC agreement that…
February 2018 Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News Update
Last month was a busy and important month for IC misclassification and compliance law. Featured among the ten cases summarized below are the first-ever trial of an IC misclassification case in the on-demand, sharing economy (Lawson v. GrubHub Holdings, Inc.); oral argument before a state’s highest court over…
What Does GrubHub’s Big Win In Its Independent Contractor Misclassification Trial Mean for Other On-Demand, Sharing Economy Businesses?
Earlier today, GrubHub, Inc. won its highly publicized case brought against it by a restaurant delivery driver / courier for allegedly misclassifying him as an independent contractor. The case drew sustained media attention during a non-jury trial in federal court in September 2017, as it was the first IC misclassification…
Oral Argument Tomorrow in Key California Supreme Court Case on Independent Contractor Status
The California Supreme Court will hear oral argument tomorrow in a case that has the potential for altering the long-standing test in California for independent contractor status. The case is Dynamex Operations West v. Superior Court (No. S222732), which has been on appeal before the California Supreme Court since…
January 2018 Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News Update
There were seven noteworthy cases in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance in January 2018 involving drivers of trucking companies, behavioral therapists, ride-sharing drivers, insurance agents, furniture delivery drivers, home care workers, and construction workers. Although IC misclassification is more prevalent in the home care and construction industries…
What to Expect in 2018 in the Law of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance (Part 2)
2017 was notable for a shift in the law of independent contractors. Part 1, published yesterday, discussed five key legal developments from 2017. Part 2, below, offers readers predictions of what to expect in 2018 in this area of the law. Both parts also offer takeaways designed to maximize…