If you were searching the internet for business news over the Christmas week, chances are you came across an article entitled “Deliberately Misclassified?”. The article which centered on Allstate Agents and their search for independence, mentioned that back in 2000, Allstate decided to alter their worker model by changing the status of every agent from employee to an independent contractor. Fast forward to today and those same agents who are independent contractors are trapped in a web of contro...  Read More

Last Friday, Fedex settled a decade long lawsuit with 203 drivers that were misclassified by the company as independent contractors. The total amount of dollars Fedex has agreed to payout is in the neighborhood of $27 million. Of that total, $14.5 million will be paid to the California drivers and $12.5 million will be applied to attorney and court fees. The drivers stand to collect anywhere between $2,000 & $280,000 with the average payout being $70,000.Though Fedex has agreed to the payout...  Read More

A new Minnesota independent contractor law will go into affect on January 1, 2009 taking aim at the construction industry and its independent contractor population. The Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate Legislation will require anyone doing business as an independent contractor to obtain an Independent Contractor Exemption Certificate from the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. Any individuals performing construction services without an Independent Contractor Certificate Exem...  Read More

A few weeks ago, the American public elected Barack Obama as its 44th President. During President Elect Obama’s run for the White House, he preached the word “Change”. Unfortunately, for employers, a part of that change may be directed at them. Before becoming the President Elect, Obama was instrumental in sponsoring two senate bills aimed at worker misclassification, the Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007 (S. 2044) and the Employee Misclassification Prevention Act (S. 3648...  Read More

A couple of weeks ago, California Attorney General Jerry Brown sued three trucking companies who provide services to Los Angeles and Long Beach ports for intentionally misclassifying their truck drivers as independent contractors. The companies classified their drivers as independent contractors to get out of paying workers compensation and employee benefits. The crackdown on truck driver misclassification at these ports is a direct result of a task force created by the California Attorney Gener...  Read More