From Employment Class Action Blog, Joseph S. Persoff reports on a significant decision by the California Supreme Court that says that an employee cannot recover unpaid wages through a California’s Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim. Joseph writes: California’s PAGA allows employees to recover civil penalties for California Labor Code violations on behalf of themselves…
From SHRM, Roy Maurer discusses a recent case in which a federal judge said that the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) did not apply to independent contractors. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has considered it applicable for years and courts on split on this issue. Roy also provides guidance on what companies should do. Roy…
From JDSupra, David Faustman discusses a recent case in which the California Supreme Court did not enforce an arbitration agreement because its was unconscionable. David writes: In One Toyota of Oakland v. Kho (“OTO”), the California Court struck down an arbitration agreement as “unconscionable,” and allowed an employee to proceed with administrative proceedings before the Labor Commissioner in…
From JDSupra, Richard Reibstein provides an excellent summary of Assembly Bill 5, the bill that incorporates the ABC test into law. Richard writes: The latest version of Assembly Bill 5, which codifies the California Supreme Court’s Dynamex decision that was issued in April 2018, is about to become law. Dynamex created a so-called ABC test requiring companies to satisfy…
Last year, in Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. The Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Charles Lee et al, Case No. S222732, the California Supreme Court adopted a new standard — the ABC test — for determining if a workers is an employee or independent contractor. The Court said: Under this test, a worker is properly considered…
From MinnPost, Jessica Lee reports on efforts by Minneapolis City Council members to protect workers classified as independent contractors. Jessica writes: Council members Steve Fletcher (Ward 3) and Linea Palmisano (Ward 13) are developing a set of new guidelines to give Minneapolis’ Department of Civil Rights authority to help for-hire workers — think construction crews, app-based workers, freelance artists, handymen or other gig…
From The National Law Review, Christopher Mikula review proposed legislation in Michigan includes a bill to adopt the ABC test for classifying workers as independent contractors and imposing additional penalties for misclassifying workers. Chris writes: The new legislation would make employee-friendly modifications to several Michigan statutes, including the Payment of Wages and Fringe Benefits Act (PWFBA),…
From The Intelligencer, Chris English reports on the efforts of Pennsylvania legislators to strengthen the laws governing misclassification of workers as independent contractors or employees. Chris writes: Misuse of the independent contractor designation for workers, primarily in the construction industry, is costing the state and federal governments a combined total of about $300 million in…
From JDSupra, Regina Petty and Grant Wills discuss a recent decision by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that said misclassifying workers as independent contractors does not constitute an unfair labor practice. Regina and Grant write: Employers found to have misclassified employees as independent contractors will no longer face the prospect of unfair labor practice…
From the Los Angeles Times, Margot Roosevelt, Liam Dillon, and Johana Bhuiyan report that the California bill that adopts the ABC test for classifying workers is moving towards passage in the California Assembly. They write: A measure to curb the widespread use of independent contractors across the California economy moved closer to final passage in…