From JDSupra, Seyfarth Shaw warns of a case in California that “would effectively eliminate independent contractor status for any use in California.” Seyfarth Shaw writes:
employers are likely to change their tune based on the regulatory environment and any significant judicial rulings narrowing the use of independent contractors.
One such potential ruling could come in Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court. The California Supreme Court has agreed to review a Court of Appeal decision that stunned employers by expanding the definition of “employee.” That definition of employee arguably could encompass many individuals traditionally retained as independent contractors.
When determining whether workers were independent contractors, many companies previously considered how much control the company exerted over a worker and how much a worker economically depended on the company. This framework provided some consistency.
Taking a turn, the Court of Appeal in Dynamex adopted the Wage Order’s much-broader definition of “employ,” meaning “to engage, suffer or permit to work.” As a result, the Court of Appeal expanded the meaning of the term “employee,” arguably extending it to nearly every labor relationship a company would be likely to have with an individual. The potential ramifications of such a definition upon the future use of independent contractors cannot be overstated. Indeed, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and California Chamber of Commerce have both warned that a decision to affirm the lower court’s expansive ruling “would effectively eliminate independent contractor status for any use in California.”
Read the full story at California Supreme Court Set to Address ate of Independent Contracting | Seyfarth Shaw LLP – JDSupra
