The Department of Labor (DOL) has proposed a rule that seeks to make it easier to classify workers as independent contractors. The distinction is not without difference, as the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and many of its state analogues only protect employees, but do not extend to independent contractors – including many gig economy workers. However, as made clear by the proposed rule, merely identifying a worker as an “independent contractor” does not mean the employer is off the hook.
Continue Reading Better Classification for our Economic Reality
Gig-Economy Driver for Grubhub Found An Independent Contractor
In what some believe the first federal trial over the classification of this new 21st Century worker, a federal district court found a Grubhub driver an independent contractor rather than an employee. With this determination, the worker did not qualify for protections extended
US Secretary of Labor Withdraws Joint Employment, Independent Contractor Informal Guidance
The US Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced today that Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta has withdrawn the DOL’s 2015 and 2016 informal guidance on joint employment and independent contractors. We previously reported on these issues when the guidance was published under the prior Secretary. For more information on the guidance please refer to our posts
The “Misclassification” Battle Wages On: The US DOL Weighs In Again
Unless they have been run out of a cabin in the woods with no internet for the last five years, most businesses are starkly aware of the ongoing efforts by state and federal regulators to find and