independent contractors News

Drivers Sue After Uber, Lyft Exit Austin

Former Uber Technologies Inc. and Lyft Inc. drivers in Austin, Texas, have accused the ride-hailing companies of breaking a federal law by abruptly halting operations in the city after voters backed a measure requiring them to fingerprint drivers. The lawsuits …

California Uber Drivers Seeking $1B Bounty Claim as Trial Draws Near

Uber Technologies Inc. drivers suing to be treated like employees are trying to add $1 billion in penalties under California’s unique “bounty hunter” statute as they prepare for trial in June. About 240,000 current and former Uber drivers in California …

K2 Insurance Acquires MGA, Launches Workers’ Comp, Accident Program with QBE

Program specialist K2 Insurance Services (K2) has acquired a New Jersey managing general agency specializing in workers’ compensation alternatives and also launched a nationwide workers’ compensation program with another Kentucky program manager and QBE North America. K2, which was formed …

Oregon High Court Says Cab Company Workers Aren’t Independent Contractors

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled last week that a Portland taxicab company must pay unemployment insurance taxes for certain drivers because they were improperly classified as independent contractors. The case comes amid heightened attention to the employment status of for-hire …

Uber Winning Support in States for Classifying Drivers as Contractors

State legislators in Ohio and Florida are moving ahead with regulations governing Uber and other ride services that would designate all drivers as independent contractors, bolstering a critical but much-disputed aspect of Uber’s business model. The states would join North …

Why Wage and Hour Claims Keep Rising

This was another historic year for federal wage and hour lawsuits. Using data obtained from the Federal Judicial Center, law firm Seyfarth Shaw LLP reported that 8,781 cases were filed in 2015 under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). That …

California Uber Drivers Get Class Action Status in Employment Suit

Uber drivers are entitled to class action status in litigation over whether they are independent contractors or employees, a key development in a case threatening Uber’s business model and that of other hot startups dependent on similar service workers. Three …

Court Says Jury Should Decide If FedEx Drivers are Employees in Missouri

FedEx Corp. drivers will have to start over in a fight over their employee status in Missouri. A federal appeals court said Friday that a trial judge should have let a jury decide whether the drivers were independent contractors rather …

How On-Demand Economy Is Changing Workers’ Compensation

The workers’ compensation industry must contend with a fast-growing on-demand economy where jobs are filled via apps and more employees are temporary contractors. “Technology is changing how we think about jobs,” Dr. Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute …

States Going After Employers Who Misclassify Workers as Independent Contractors

When construction slowed during the recession, some companies hired workers and wrongly designated them as independent contractors to avoid paying insurance, taxes, fair wages and overtime. Danny Odom, chief operating officer of Odom Construction Systems, Inc. in Knoxville, Tennessee, says …