From Lexology, Jeffrey H. Ruzal and Carly Baratt report that New York City has set minimum rates for ride sharing companies such as Uber and Lyft. They write: On December 4, 2018, New York City’s Taxi and Limousine Commission (“TLC”) voted to require ride-hailing companies operating in New York City to compensate its drivers who are treated…
From Lexology, Seyfarth Shaw LLP discusses the recent New York statute that prohibits an arbitration agreement that requires claims of sexual harassment to be arbitrated and whether the statute will survive federal preemption under the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). They write: In light of these precedents, the new CPLR provision concerning harassment claims appears to have…
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…