From The National Law Review, Emilia A. Arutunian discusses a recent case in which the court said that a party could not be compelled to arbitrate California’s Private Attorney General Act (PAGA) claims without the government’s consent. Emilia writes: The trial court granted the arbitration petition on all causes of action except for the PAGA…
From JDSupra, Richard Reibstein compares the recent settlements of misclassification lawsuits reached by Uber and Swift. Richard writes: As reported in our blog post on April 22, 2016, Uber Technologies had reached a $100-million dollar proposed settlement with about 385,000 drivers in California and Massachusetts; $84 million was guaranteed and another $16 million would be added if…
From Land Line Mag.com, Mark Schremmer reports that Swift Transportation Company settled a misclassification lawsuit with drivers after the United States Supreme Court issued the New Prime v. Oliveira, decision saying that companies can’t compel truck drivers to arbitration claims because they were exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Mark writes: Swift has agreed…
From TechCrunch, Megan Rose Dickey reports on the $20 million settlement that Uber reached with its drivers in a misclassification lawsuit. Megan writes: Today, Uber agreed to pay $20 million to settle the class-action lawsuit, brought forth by Douglas O’Connor and Thomas Colopy way back in 2013. This comes after a judge rejected Uber’s offer to…
From Fisher Phillips, Richard Meneghello discusses a recent case in which the actual relationship between a company and a worker was inconsistent with the independent contractor agreement and the court relied on the actual relationship to make its decision. Richard writes: In the court’s February 8 opinion, however, it noted that the agreement was relevant,…
From Forbes, Gene Zaino discusses why it is important to keep independent contractors happy (including avoiding misclassification lawsuits) and how to achieve it. Gene writes: 1. Legal Ramifications One of the most important reasons to prioritize independent talent satisfaction is based in compliance. “Independent contractor” is a IRS-designated term, and independent contractors cannot be engaged…
From HRDive, Lisa Burden discusses a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals which said that the franchise agreement did not determine how workers were properly classified. Lisa writes: A trial court incorrectly focused on a franchise agreement between 7-Eleven and its franchisees when it considered a claim involving misclassification; instead, it should…
From JDSupra, Lionel Schooler reviews a recent decision in which highly skilled directional driller consultants were held to be properly classified as independent contractors. Lionel writes: Criteria Used to Evaluate Independent Contractor Status. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit interjected itself into this ongoing skirmish last week in Parrish v. Premier Directional…
From JDSupra, Leslie Selig Byrd and Christopher Jaynes discuss a recent case in which directional drillers were found to be properly classified as independent contractors. Leslie and Christopher write: As detailed in the Court’s opinion, directional drillers are workers on a drilling site that provide advice on how to effectuate a well plan. Premier provides…
From ABC 57 News, Drew Gardner reports on misclassification in the Indiana construction industry. Drew writes: The construction industry across Indiana is facing something many contractors call a growing problem — payroll tax fraud. Some contractors are believed to be misclassifying workers, which robs them of many of the regular benefits employees receive and robs…