From JDSupra, Richard Reibstein discusses a case in Virginia in which construction workers allege that they were misclassified as independent contractors and sued the subcontractor and the general contractor under a joint employment theory. Richard writes:
General Contractor Sued for IC Misclassification Along with Construction Subcontractor under Joint Employment Doctrine by Carpenters. Construction trades workers engaged to perform carpentry on a resort company’s $900 million project have filed a class action lawsuit in a Virginia federal court against the general contractor and carpentry subcontractor for violations of the wage and hour provisions of multiple state laws, alleging they were misclassified as ICs instead of employees. The claims against the general contractor and carpentry subcontractor were brought under the state’s wage payment act, minimum wage and overtime laws, and paystub transparency law. The carpenters allege in their class action complaint that they were deprived of overtime wages and pay for work they performed on the project. According to the complaint, the general contractor had a contractual relationship with the carpentry subcontractor who, in turn, allegedly engaged a labor broker to recruit and pay the carpenters for work on the resort company’s project. The complaint alleged the subcontractor was the workers’ employer because it controlled all aspects of the carpenters’ work. The lawsuit also alleges that the general contractor is also liable to the workers under the joint employer doctrine because it supervised the project work and directed the subcontractor’s foreman. Bonilla v. Hensel Phelps Construction Co. and Pillar Construction, Inc., No. 3:26-cv-00814 (E.D. Va. Aug.13, 2026).