Tag Archives: Independent Contractor

Against the Odds: Did a Court of Appeals Just Grant Independent Contractors the Right to Strike and Organize?

By Todd Lebowitz on April 11, 2022 Posted in Independent Contractor

On June 4, 1923, jockey Frank Hayes rode 20-1 long shot Sweet Kiss to victory at Belmont Park. While that seems impressive, what made the win even more memorable is that at some point during the race, poor Frank died. He somehow stayed on the horse and ended up in the winner’s circle. Or six … Continue Reading

Schrödinger’s Cat? Ninth Circuit Disrupts Trucking Industry with Contractor Misclassification Ruling

By Todd Lebowitz on May 3, 2021 Posted in Independent Contractor

Have you heard of Schrödinger’s cat? It’s not a real cat, like Felix or Brian Setzer. It’s a hypothetical, seemingly impossible cat that exists only in the world of quantum physics. Schrödinger’s cat refers to a thought experiment in which a cat in a box is simultaneously alive and dead, until you open the box … Continue Reading

California Supreme Court Applies Dynamex Independent Contractor Test Retroactively

By Joseph S. Persoff on January 14, 2021 Posted in California, Independent Contractor

The California Supreme Court has concluded that the ABC Test it developed for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or employee applies retroactively. Therefore, the ABC Test, first developed in the Court’s Dynamex decision, applies to California wage and hour claims implicating a time period prior to issuance of the Dynamex decision on … Continue Reading

Whaddaya Call It? DOL Proposes New Independent Contractor Test

By Todd Lebowitz on September 23, 2020 Posted in Independent Contractor

Soda or pop? Pill bug or roly poly? What you call things depends on where you live. In 2014, the New York Times published this 25-question dialect quiz that will tell you, with startling accuracy, where you or your parents are from. The test is fun, and you can see how words and dialects vary … Continue Reading

Bring Forth the Tiger-Dogs! Here’s a Quick Status Check on the Challenges to California’s New Independent Contractor Law

By Todd Lebowitz on February 10, 2020 Posted in Independent Contractor

When outside forces pose a threat to people’s livelihood, people will go to great lengths to fight back. For example, when monkeys began ravaging the crops of a farmer in Karnataka, India, the imaginative farmer painted his dog to look like a tiger, to scare away the pesky invaders. [Photo here.] Business owners in California … Continue Reading

Not Dead Yet: The States’ New Strategy for Attacking Independent Contractor Misclassification Can Be Relentless — and Costly.

By Todd Lebowitz on November 20, 2019 Posted in Independent Contractor

For years, state governments have claimed they were losing hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid withholdings as a result of independent contractor misclassification. Now, one state is making a grab for a massive piece of that pie — all at once. On November 12, the state of New Jersey sent a bill to Uber … Continue Reading

New York City Extends NYCHRL Employment Protections to Freelancers and Independent Contractors

By Amy J. Traub and Marc-Joseph Gansah on November 18, 2019 Posted in Independent Contractor, New York

On Oct. 13, 2019, New York City enacted Int. 136-A (the Law), expanding the employment protections of the New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) to freelancers and independent contractors. The Law will take effect on Jan. 11, 2020. The NYCHRL applies to employers with four or more employees. The Law changes the counting rule … Continue Reading

New NYC Law Requires Written Agreements for Solo Contractors, Even Nannies and Babysitters!

By Todd Lebowitz on May 19, 2017 Posted in Independent Contractor

Do you have a nanny or a housekeeper? A regular babysitter? If so, pay attention. Anyone hiring a solo independent contractor in New York City will need to comply with the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which takes effect May 15, 2017. Anyone. Individuals included. The Act requires a written agreement for all contracts where the value … Continue Reading

Labor Department Announces Plan to Find Joint Employment — in All Directions

By Todd Lebowitz on January 26, 2016 Posted in Independent Contractor, Wage and Hour

When I get lost (which is often, say my kids), I turn to a map. Fortunately, I always have my iPhone on me, so the Maps app can generally get me where I am going. The Wage and Hour Division needs no map to find where it wants to go. In a 15-page release dated … Continue Reading

DOL Meets The Far Side, Targets Independent Contractor Relationships

By Todd Lebowitz on July 15, 2015 Posted in Independent Contractor, Uncategorized, Wage and Hour

The all-time best The Far Side cartoon (based on an unscientific survey, sample size of me) is the one with two deer standing in the forest, one with a red circular target imprinted on its chest. The other deer says, “Bummer of a birthmark, Hal.” Poor Hal. Blessed with the ability to walk upright, but … Continue Reading

Volunteers Alleging Employment Status Lose Title VII Case, but Court Applies Vigorous Analysis First

By Todd Lebowitz on December 17, 2014 Posted in Independent Contractor

Everyone’s looking for volunteers. The Salvation Army recruits helpers with the promise of “Doing the most good.” Volunteers of America invites participation by reminding the public “There are no limits to caring.” Even Disney’s Haunted Mansion seeks new recruits, reminding guests at the end of the doom buggy tour, “We have 999 happy haunts here, … Continue Reading

Conservative Kansas Joins the Liberal Ninth Circuit in Rejecting the Independent Contractor Classification of Delivery Drivers

By Todd Lebowitz on October 16, 2014 Posted in Independent Contractor

Editor’s Note: This blog post is a joint submission with BakerHostetler’s Employment Class Action Blog. Last month we blogged about two Ninth Circuit opinions that deemed FedEx Ground drivers to be employees rather than independent contractors under California and Oregon law. Last week the Kansas Supreme Court joined them, applying Kansas law to reach the … Continue Reading

Joint Employment Finding Leads to Unexpected $3 Million Liability in Hospital Malpractice Case

By Todd Lebowitz on July 25, 2014 Posted in Healthcare, Independent Contractor, Staffing Agency

When Washington Hospital obtained an insurance policy in 2003 to cover medical claims arising from acts by its employees, its insurer probably did not consider whether hospital employees included workers supplied by a staffing agency. It should have. The issue of whether a staffing agency nurse was a joint employee of the hospital turned into … Continue Reading

Ninth Circuit Shows No Affinity for Independent Contractor Status in Delivery Drivers

By Todd Lebowitz on June 18, 2014 Posted in Independent Contractor

Delivering another blow to the independent contractor model, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held this week that furniture delivery drivers for Affinity Logistics were employees under California law, not independent contractors. In Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corporation, the Court of Appeals rejected the district court’s conclusion that Affinity’s drivers were independent contractors, a decision … Continue Reading