From JD Supra, Richard J. Reibstein provides a great update on independent contractor compliance and misclassification for February 2016. Richard writes:
In February 2016, two federal appellate courts ruled in favor of companies in IC misclassification cases: one where the NLRB was reversed in a decision where the agency had found stagehands to be employees and not ICs; the other where an appellate court gave a small but important victory to FedEx Ground in its IC misclassification fight in Massachusetts under the nation’s strictest test for IC status. At the same time, two cases involving food companies are highlighted below: one where merchandisers who maintained shelf space in food stores filed a new lawsuit against Pepperidge Farm under the Illinois wage laws; the other where a nationwide food manufacturer tried to win its IC misclassification class action on a motion for summary judgment but was unable to do so and will instead now have to convince a jury in North Carolina that it properly classified distributors.
One of the more notable developments in February was just reported two days ago, when aBuzzfeed article noted that the drivers delivering items for Amazon Now’s new 2-hour rush order service have been reclassified as employees just months after the filing of a class action lawsuit alleging that they were misclassified as ICs and deprived benefits under California law.
Source: February 2016 Independent Contractor Compliance and Misclassification News Update
