Judges in California will likely soon issue rulings affecting two ride-sharing companies, Uber and Lyft. Those connected with the Lyft case will be pleased because it is expected that a federal district court judge in San Francisco will formally approve a $27 million settlement in an independent contractor misclassification case…

In the past 2-1/2 years, FedEx has suffered through some appellate court setbacks in the area of independent contractor misclassification, beginning with a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in San Francisco and ending with a decision by the Seventh Circuit in Chicago. Those decisions…

January was a busy month for independent contractor misclassification – and IC compliance. In addition to Lowe’s $2.85 million settlement with installers whom it classified as ICs, Lufthansa agreed to pay $1.1 million in settlement for a small group of aircraft workers.  Meanwhile, Time Warner was sued for allegedly misclassifying…

In my update below for last month’s developments in this area of the law, I report on five significant court cases involving companies in the transportation industry that use ICs as an integral part of their business model. Each of the cases suggests rough sailing for such businesses if they…

The U.S. Department of Labor earlier today reissued its resources on independent contractor misclassification and grouped them together with resources from other federal and state agencies on the subject. This appears to be the Labor Department’s effort to create a type of one-stop shopping page for government materials on independent…

Gig economy companies based on an independent contractor model beware.

On December 14, 2016, a federal court in Pennsylvania denied a motion to dismiss an “on-call” wage claim in a class action lawsuit filed against Uber by limousine drivers that claim they were not paid minimum wage and overtime for…

My news update for last month highlights the fact that IC misclassification lawsuits are happening across the country and in virtually every industry, both in the on-demand economy and in more traditional business sectors. Cases reported below for November 2016 involve misclassification lawsuits prosecuted by administrative agencies and class action …

Regardless of where a company is headquartered, it likely contracts with one or more independent contractors who live or work in New York City. If your company does so, take note. Earlier today, November 16, 2016, Mayor de Blasio signed into law the Freelance Isn’t Free Act (No. 1017-2015…

In the past eight years, the Obama Administration has spearheaded enforcement initiatives on independent contractor misclassification through the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS. That crackdown, however, seemed to be focused on the low-hanging fruit – companies that often had little or no defense to the claim that they…

My update for this past month is noteworthy for the fact that I report below on IC misclassification lawsuits plaguing some of the largest and most recognizable companies in the U.S. (like Uber, Amazon, and FedEx) as well as a small local business like a New York City yoga studio. …