Author: Nick Lussier The Coronavirus (“COVID-19”) has disrupted businesses from coast to coast and since led to a slew of lawsuits against insurance companies. The famed restaurateur, Thomas Keller (“Keller”), recently sued The Hartford and underwriter, Lloyd’s of London, seeking judgment in its favor pursuant to an insurance policy that extended coverage from direct physical […]
Authors: Michael Ols (mols@sfmslaw.com); Nicolas A. Lussier (nlussier@sfmslaw.com) In a recent filing in the Western District of Pennsylvania, PNC has agreed to terms which would settle two pending federal cases, Herbin v. The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc., No. 19 Civ. 696 (W.D. Pa.) and Minor v. PNC Bank, N.A., No. 19 Civ. 114 (W.D. […]
On Monday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed bills that will protect employees from worker misclassification. The worker misclassification bills will protect self-employed and freelance workers, and companies will now be obligated to offer them the right to earn overtime pay, earn sick leave time, and be able to take advantage of Workers’ Compensation if […]
The vote on the New Jersey independent contractors bill S4204 will be delayed. Senate President Stephen Sweeney announced on Wednesday that state lawmakers will not be voting on the bill before the lame-duck session ends next week in mid-January. Instead, the proposed bill will be revisited and discussed in further detail in the next two-year […]
In early November 2019, Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. (“Wells Fargo” or “Defendant”) asked the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (“Ninth Circuit”) to reverse a judgment of the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, in the case Patricia Barreras, et al. v. Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., et al., Case No. CV 17-4344 PA, that awarded […]
In September 2019, the Department of Labor (“DOL”) announced a final rule which will increase the annual salary amount to qualify for certain exemptions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). Pursuant to the FLSA, salaried employees are not entitled to overtime pay if they, inter alia, earn more than the salary threshold, which is […]
The state of New Jersey struck Uber with more than $600 million in fines and taxes due to their alleged practice of worker misclassification via labelling employees as independent contractors. The New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development claims that Uber owes over $500 million in overdue taxes as well as fines and interest […]
On August 20, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals held that mandatory arbitration agreements in employee retirement and investment plans are enforceable, overturning a recent district court ruling and upsetting Circuit precedent. In recent years, corporations have regularly inserted arbitration clauses into contracts with their employees and customers. Arbitration clauses bind parties to resolving […]
On October 1, 2019, the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the ruling of the district court and held that McDonald’s is not a joint employer of one of its franchisee’s workers. McDonald’s U.S.A. LLC is a franchisor, that contracts with franchisees, such as the Haynes Family Limited Partnership (“Haynes”). Approximately 1,400 employees […]
In mid-2018, the California Supreme Court handed down a precedential decision in Dynamex Operations West Inc. v. Superior Court, 4 Cal. 5th 903 (2018), reh’g denied (June 20, 2018), by adopting a new worker-friendly test, called the “ABC test,” when determining whether a worker should be classified as an employee or independent contractor under California […]
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