Topic: Antitrust

While selected states are in the midst of trying to crack down on independent contractor misclassification, the federal government is trying to clear a path and clarify the tests for independent contractor status under various federal laws.  As reported below, New Jersey last month enacted a series of laws that, among other things, increases the penalties for IC misclassification under that state’s current “ABC” test for IC status. The existing “ABC” test in New Jersey was not amended by the Legislature, despite a strong push by some legislators in New Jersey to do so, but it remains a challenging test to meet for some companies using ICs in that state.  Meanwhile, the U.S. Labor Department issued its new joint employer regulation in January 2020, explaining and clarifying that some of the factors previously used by courts and administrative agencies to establish joint employer status are irrelevant to that issue but highly relevant to determinations of IC status.