I've written here recently about the one-sided Criminalization of Employment Law . It seems that employees are getting tossed in jail while scofflaw employers sail off in their yachts laughing at the 99%. Well, at least one state Senator is doing... Read More

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended, 29 U.S.C. §§ 201-219 (the "FLSA"), and its implementing regulations, 29 C.F.R. § 510 et seq. , mandate that most employees in the United States be paid at least the... Read More

Wage-and-hour reforms are all the rage. Yet, with reform comes a potential unforeseen price—businesses that simply cannot afford to stay in business. From Re/Code : Cleaning services company Homejoy is shutting down on July 31 after struggling... Read More

Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors This is a problem that has plagued America's workforce for many years. Companies have repeatedly, and purposefully, engaged in the practice of misclassifying people who should be deemed... Read More

Last week, two different California federal judges reached the same conclusion in two different lawsuits brought against two different ride-hailing companies, Uber and Lyft. O’Connor v. Uber Technologies, Inc. [ an enhanced version of this opinion... Read More

One of my least favorite topics to teach in my employment law course is the definition of "employee" (vs. independent contractor, trainee/intern, volunteer, or something else). Why? There are several different tests; they can have a dozen or... Read More

At a signing ceremony at the offices of the Department of Labor in Washington, D.C., the DOL and the IRS signed a memorandum of understanding that will likely result in increased DOL and IRS enforcement proceedings against employers accused of misclassifying... Read More

Two weeks ago, I wrote about whether harassment training should be offered to employees in "the Twilight Zone" -- mainly, lead persons and contingent workers (temporaries and independent contractors). Reader Paul C. suggested that I do a post... Read More

Employers take a risk when they classify someone performing services for them as an independent contractor instead of an employee. Because employers owe contractors far fewer obligations than employees, employers risk each of the following if a court... Read More

Few things in the law are as poorly defined as the distinction between independent contractors and employees. This will be the first post in a series dedicated to that distinction. One of the problems is that courts apply different tests depending on... Read More

In my younger days, I had a summer job in college where I clocked in at 9 and left at 5. They gave me a desk, a computer, training, a supervisor, job instruction, and a not-so-fatty paycheck. But, at least, nothing got withheld from my paycheck. They... Read More

The IRS is becoming more aggressive in enforcement of employment classification and is scrutinizing the distinctions between employees and independent contractors with an increasing level of focus. The question of whether a worker is an independent... Read More

Yesterday, we reviewed the Third Circuit's classification test for employees under the FLSA . Next up: Pennsylvania's test for purposes of Unemployment Compensation. When does this come into play? Well, claimants are generally not entitled to... Read More

by Korey Clark One of the biggest obstacles facing ride-sharing companies like Uber and Lyft since coming into existence a few years ago has been getting permission from city and state regulators to operate. But having won that approval in many places... Read More

In this Emerging Issues commentary, Thomas Fox discusses the "right of control" test that is used under Texas Law in determining contractor liability for its employees' acts. In addition, Mr. Fox provides guidance to businesses operating... Read More