From JDSpura, David Baron, Michael DeLarco and Zachary Siegel describe the Department of Labor’s (DOL) initiative to encourage employers to engage in a self-audit and resolve potential violations. They also raise a number of questions about the program that may inhibit participation in the program. This program might provide an opportunity for employers who misclassified workers as…
From The Conversation, Caroline Bruckner discusses a problem for independent contractors: firms who pay them are not required to issue form 1099 in many instances. Caroline observes that the problem could have been addressed in the recent tax legislation. Caroline writes: Like all businesses, the companies, in what is sometimes called the “sharing economy,” must issue…
Affordable Colleges Online has compared the candidates positions on education. With the election just two days away, anyone who is still deciding who to vote for should look at their comparison. They identify the issues: and provide the candidates positions: Read the full story at VOTE 2016:Examining the Presidential Candidates’ Views on Education From more useful…
From JDSupra, Richard Meneghello discusses the Republican Party’s inclusion of the gig or freelance economy in its platform. Richard writes: For the first time in recorded human history, one of the major political parties mentioned the gig economy in its national platform. The future is here! The Republican Platform, ratified by the party on…
From Wealth Management, Megan Leonhardt reports that Senator Sherrod Brown will propose legislation to reduce misclassification of workers but will prevent the IRS from retroactively reclassifying independent representatives of brokers/dealers provided there is a reasonable basis for their classification. Mega writes: Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, joined by Dept. of Labor Sec. Thomas Perez, said Monday he would propose a…
From JDSupra, Yova Borovska provides an excellent analysis of the challenges of using independent contractors and the risk of potential I-9 violations if they are misclassified. Yova discusses a recent case A recent decision by the Office of the Chief Administrative Hearings Officer (OCAHO) illustrates the methodology generally used by the courts to answer this question. In…
From the Consumerist, Chris Morran reports on the Payroll Fraud Prevention Act of 2015. He writes: “The Payroll Fraud Prevention Act of 2015 [PDF], introduced by Sen. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania and Sen. Al Franken of Minnesota, would amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to require that workers understand whether they are being classified as an…
From TLNT, Eric B. Meyer reports on decision in a case in the federal Court of Appeals in Philadelphia that looked at whether a worker was an employee or independent contractor. The worker was an engineer who worked 40+ hours per week for a company servicing and installing its machines at different job sites. Eric observes…
From the Washington Post, Lydia DePillis reports on how some politicians have been addressing the issue of misclassification. Lydia writes: “Thus far, politicians have mostly fallen over each other to praise the Ubers of the world, seeking to align themselves with the idea of innovation, modernity and a service everyone loves. Lately, however, the arguments of…
From JDSupra, Daniel Schwartz discusses the Department of Labor’s guidance on misclassification and the complexity of classifying workers in Connecticut which has a different standard. Daniel writes: “But the USDOL’s new “interpretation” is certainly going to force employers to take a new look at their relationships to determine whether independent contractors should be better classified…