From Law360, Jeannie O’Sullivan discusses proposed legislation in New Jersey that would provide basic protections for freelancers similar to the Freelance Isn’t Free Act in New York City. Jeannie writes: Attorneys are among the professionals exempted from a proposal advanced by New Jersey lawmakers Monday that establishes protections for freelancers, such as timely payment assurance…
From JDSupra, Mark Tabakman discusses a recent New Jersey case in which pyrotechnicians were determined to be independent contractors. Mark writes: I have handled almost 100 unemployment insurance audits by the New Jersey DOL, where the underlying gravamen is that certain individuals are or are not independent contractors. The Auditors enforce the law very strictly and…
From JDSupra, Harris Freier discusses a recent District of New Jersey case in which the fact that the workers had formed limited liability companies or corporations resulted in several of the complaints by the workers being dismissed. Harris writes: Late last month, District of New Jersey Judge Robert B. Kugler partially granted FedEx Ground Package Systems…
From Business Insurance, Judy Greenwald reports that Lowes agreed to a settlement of claims that workers were misclassified as independent contractors. Judy writes: Lowe’s Home Centers has agreed to pay to pay up to $2.9 million to 450 New Jersey installers to settle charges it had misclassified the workers as independent contractors. The maximum…
From JDSupra, Krystina Barbieri, and Michael Riccobono discuss proposed legislation in New Jersey that would require written contracts with freelancers and provisions in those contracts spelling out the payment terms. Krystina and Michael write: On January 19, 2017, the New Jersey Assembly Labor Committee advanced a bill (A-4410) that would require written contracts between “freelance workers” and…
From JDSupra, Kevin Miller discusses a New Jersey case that said that Uber drivers had to arbitrate their claims that they were misclassified. Kevin writes: In a published opinion filed on January 30, 2017, Hon. Freda L. Wolfson, U.S.D.J. of the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey held that a proposed class…
From The Wall Street Journal, Robbie Whelan reports that a bill in the New Jersey legislature is considering legislation that would broaden the definition of independent contractors to include most truckers. Robbie writes: The trucking industry has won a round in an ongoing bout with labor unions over whether truck drivers at the East…
From HR.BLR.com, Howard Fetner discusses a case in which Williams-Sonoma hired MXD Group to deliver furniture to its cusomters. MXD Group hired other companies, who hired drivers and helpers to deliver the furniture. Some of the drivers and helpers alleged they were misclassified as independent contractors. Howard writes: The court applied two different,…
From JDSupra, Joseph C. O’Keefe, Esther Pak, Catherine Pontoriero share their view on employment trends in 2015 in New Jersey. With respect to independent contractors, they write: State Court – Independent Contractors In Hargrove v. Sleepy’s LLC, 220 N.J. 289 (2015), the New Jersey Supreme Court addressed the question—submitted by the Third Circuit Court of Appeals—of “which test a…
From Seyfarth Shaw‘s Wage & Hour Litigation Blog, Robert S. Whitman and Robert T. Szyba discuss the recent opinion by the New Jersey Supreme Court to apply the ABC test in wage and hour law cases. They note that it is easier now for independent contractors to challenge their classification under New Jersey’s wage and…