The use of independent contractors in the logistics and home delivery industry has suffered another legal setback. Earlier this week, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, applying California law, concluded that 300 drivers who were retained by Affinity Logistics Corp. to make home deliveries and…

APRIL/MAY 2014

In The Courts

• ARIZONA DRYWALL COMPANY TO PAY $600,000 TO SETTLE ALLEGATIONS THAT ITS LABOR SUBCONTRACTOR MISCLASSIFIED IC’S.

Paul Johnson Drywall, Inc. agreed to pay $600,000 in back wages and liquidated damages to 445 current and former employees as result of the U.S. Department of Labor investigation into…

On Friday, May 23, 2014, Lowe’s Home Centers agreed to settle a class action brought by its home improvement contractors who allege that they were misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees. The maximum settlement amount, depending on the number of contractors who file claims, is $6,500,000, plus an additional…

Most bills in Congress dealing with independent contractor misclassification are introduced with a great deal of fanfare. But not so with the Payroll Fraud Prevention Act of 2014, which was introduced on May 8, 2014 and released to the public earlier today.

The bill was sponsored by Representative Joe Courtney…

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…

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

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

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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…