The most notable legal developments during the June/July  period were appellate decisions: one by the Vermont Supreme Court holding that a construction company did not misclassify a carpentry contractor under that state’s unemployment insurance law; the other by the California Court of Appeal, an intermediate level appellate court, affirming a…

Yesterday, the lawyers representing drivers who have sued Uber in California commenced another lawsuit on behalf of drivers alleging that the company misclassified them as independent contractors instead of employees. This lawsuit, though, is not against the company itself; rather, it is against Travis Kalanick, the former CEO and a…

This update of May 2017 developments in the area of independent contractor misclassification and compliance highlights three key legislative developments: the enactment of two new laws (one in New York City and the other in Florida) and the introduction of a bill in Congress.  As discussed below, these legislative initiatives…

Earlier today, the U.S. Department of Labor issued a short, 3-sentence News Release where the recently-confirmed Labor Secretary, Alexander Acosta, announced that he has withdrawn the Labor Department’s formal guidance on two key issues facing businesses: joint employment and independent contractors.  The first guidance on joint employment, which was issued…

Independent contractors and other contingent workers are not currently eligible for workers’ compensation, disability benefits, health insurance coverage, and pension benefits under federal and most state laws. This may well change if the two Democratic sponsors of a bill introduced today in Congress are able to get bipartisan support for…

On May 9, 2017, Governor Rick Scott of Florida signed the Transportation Network Companies Act (HB 221), which designates drivers for ride-sharing companies in the on-demand or gig economy as “independent contractors” as long as the “transportation network company” meets four criteria that are currently met by Uber,…

On May 15, 2017, a first-in-the-nation law regulating the relationship between independent contractors and those who retain their services goes into effect in New York City. Regardless of where a company is headquartered, it will likely enter into contracts with one or more independent contractors who live or work in…

April was a red-hot month for independent contractor misclassification cases. We report below on 10 cases in the courts and two before administrative agencies involving:

  • seven-figure proposed class action settlements with couriers providing services to three on-demand delivery companies (PostMates, DoorDash, and InstaCart);
  • court approvals of a nine-figure settlement between

…

While Uber has dominated the headlines when it comes to whether drivers on their on-demand, ride-sharing platforms are independent contractors or employees, similar battles are being waged elsewhere in the car service industry. One such battle that has received considerable attention involves a class and collective action lawsuit brought under…

February 2017

[Publisher’s Note: The original February 2017 monthly update was corrupted; accordingly, it is placed in this combined February/March 2017 update of monthly IC developments.]

Three of the seven court cases I report on below in my February 2017 monthly update of IC misclassification cases involve Uber, and each…