From JDSupra, Alan Levin and Richard Reibstein discuss the decision that an insurance agent was an independent contractor under the ABC test. Alan and Richard write: Judge William J. Martini of the U.S. Court for the District of New Jersey granted Northwestern Mutual’s motion for summary judgment. As to the first prong of the ABC…
From the New Jersey Law Journal, P.J. D’Annunzio discusses a case in which the court said that an insurance agent was an independent contractor under the ABC test. P.J. writes: A federal judge has dismissed a putative class action against Northwestern Mutual filed by a longtime insurance agent who claimed the company improperly classified him and…
From JDSupra, Raymond Nhan and Rod Sorensen recommend that employers should not rely too heavily on the United States Department of Labor’s Opinion Letter which said that workers engaged through an online platform were independent contractors. Raymond and Rod write: First, the Opinion Letter is not binding on any court. Rather, the Opinion Letter only…
From JDSupra, Suzanne Thomas discusses a new statute in Washington that limits non-compete agreements for employees and some independent contractors. Suzanne writes: Under the new law, a noncompetition covenant is void and unenforceable against an employee or, as applicable, an independent contractor: Unless (1) the employer discloses the terms of the covenant in writing to…
From the Louisiana Personal Injury Lawyer Blog, the Bernard Law Firm discusses a case in which a company that hired an independent contractor was not liable for injuries in a motor vehicle accident. The Bernand Law Firm writes: Larry Dragna was on a drive in November, 2011, when his vehicle was hit by a driver…
From The National Law Review, Michael S. Kun discusses a recent case in which the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals said that California’s Dynamex decision adopting the ABC test for determining if workers were employees or independent contractors applied retroactively. Michael writes: The Ninth Circuit has now addressed that issue and has concluded that Dynamex in fact…
From TravelMarket, Richard D’Ambrosio discusses concerns about whether travel agents in California will continue to be independent contractors. Richard writes: The California Coalition of Travel Organizations [CCTO] has issued a “call to action,” urging California travel agencies, tour operators and independent agents to contact their state senators and assembly members to resist calls for new…
WorkersCompensation.com reports that a Massachusetts cleaning company will pay $335,000 for wage law violations including misclassifying workers as independent contractors. WorkersCompensation.com reports: A cleaning and janitorial services company and its president will pay $335,000 in restitution and penalties for misclassifying its workers as independent contractors and for violating the earned sick time law, Attorney General Maura…
From JDSupra, Michelle Roberts Gonzales and Tao Leung discuss two cases involving arbitration clauses in California. In the first case, the court enforced the arbitration clause because the employee’s continuing employment amounted to acceptance of the agreement. In the second case, the court did not enforce the agreement because of deficiencies in the terms of the…
Teamsters.org reports that California truck drivers were awared $1.2 Ten California port truck drivers who haul cargo for Best Buy, Puma and Lowe’s have been awarded more than $1.2 million by the California Labor Commissioner for wage theft due to misclassification as independent contractors. The decision orders K&R Transportation, which was purchased by NFI Industries in…