From engadget, Mariella Moon reports that Uber will be required to pay unemployment taxes for its driver in New York because they will be considered employees. Mariella writes: New York authorities have reached a decision that could change the way Uber drivers are classified — at least when it comes to unemployment insurance. The New York State Unemployment…
From Mondaq, Jeffrey D. Neuburger discusses a recent case in which a New York court refused to enforce an arbitration agreement in an online contract. Jeffrey writes: Courts are increasingly taking a magnifying glass to electronic contracting processes, particularly how the presentation of the terms of service and call to action are displayed. As such, companies…
Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA) reports that a New York appellate court found a Postmates courier to be an independent contractor. It says: The court’s 3-2 ruling reverses an earlier finding from the Unemployment Insurance Appeal Board that Postmates couriers were employees and the company was liable for paying unemployment insurance as well as other…
From Lexology, Jacklyn J. Ford and Michael C. Griffaton discuss changes in the laws of New York that prohibit harassment of independent contractors. They write: HARASSMENT OF NON-EMPLOYEES IS PROHIBITED (EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY) It is now an unlawful discriminatory practice for an employer to permit sexual harassment of contractors, subcontractors, vendors, consultants, or other persons providing services…
From Politico, Marie J. French discusses the New York state budget and a provision that extends protections from sexual harassment to independent contractors and other non-employees. Marie writes: Critics say new protections against workplace sexual harassment are inadequate, although it’s likely that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and legislative leaders will hail them as a key achievement.…
From JDSupra, Andrew Lauria, Rebecca Carr Rizzo, and Kenneth Taber discuss the regulations published by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs implementing the Freelance Isn’t Free Act. They write: The Freelance Isn’t Free Act is a recent New York City law that went into effect on May 15, 2017. As previously reported in our Client Alert, “NYC…
From JDSupra, Howard Wexler and Robert Whitman discuss a New York Appellate case in which the court found a class action waiver violated a worker’s rights under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA). Howard and Robert write: As our loyal readers are well aware, the U.S. Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral argument in its Fall 2017 term regarding…
From Bloomberg BNA, Jon Steingart reports that a photographer for the New York Times alleges that he was misclassified as an independent contractor. Jon writes: The New York Times Co. didn’t fully pay a photographer for about 3,300 hours’ worth of overtime worked over 10 years, according to a recent lawsuit. Photographer Robert Stolarik sometimes had…
From JDSupra, Meredith-Anne Berger and Gena Usenheimer discuss the rules issued to implement the Freelance Isn’t Free Act in New York City and question whether the prohibition against arbitration clauses and class action waivers might be preempted by the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). Meredith and Gena write: Prohibition Against Arbitration? The Rules provide that any contract…
From JDSupra, Mark Goldstein and Cindy Schmitt Minniti discuss rules issued by the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs that govern the company-freelancer relationship. In particular, the rules threaten provisions that require binding arbitration and waive a freelancer’s right to participate in a class action lawsuit. Mark and Cindy write: As part of the Act’s implementation,…