On May 9, 2013, California Senate Bill SB556 was amended but still increases liability to companies who use the services of Independent Contractors.

On May 8, 2013, a Canadian publication, (Brantfordexpositor.ca) posted an article which spoke to Canadian construction contractors’ responses to the recent requirement making it mandatory for them to purchase the Ontario equivalent of Workers Compensation insurance (WSIB).

On April 29, 2013, New Jersey Assembly Bill A1578 named “Truck Operator Independent Contractor Act” went before the general assembly and was voted down.

The New York State legislature has two Bills in front of it, S04589 & A05237, titled “New York State Commercial Goods Transportation Fair Play Act” which address the misclassification of workers as Independent Contractors instead of employees.

The fiscal year 2014 budget of the United States Government includes increased spending for the enforcement of misclassification. The Budget specifically addresses funding to the Department of Labor with two areas that are targeted at the country’s use of Independent Contractors.

On April 22, 2013 the US Department of Labor (USDOL) issued a press release stating:

“Freeman & Associates Contracting Corp. of Raleigh has agreed to pay $20,088 in back wages to four construction employees following an investigation by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division that found employees were misclassified as independent contractors and, consequently, were denied overtime compensation under the Fair Labor Standards Act.”

On March 19, 2013, the US Department of Labor (USDOL) issued a press release stating:

“H&W Printing Inc. in Marietta, Ga., pays more than $39,000 in back wages and penalties following US Department of Labor investigation. Employer misclassified employees as independent contractors during probationary period, denied overtime.”

The Massachusetts Delivery Association (MDA) presented its oral arguments for Summary Judgment on their case against the Attorney General (MDA v Martha Coakley) on April 10, 2013.

On February 11, 2013, Judge Ted Stewart of the United States Court for the District of Utah Central Division ruled, in part, for the Plaintiff [Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, Inc. (OOIDA)] and, in part, for the Defendant [C.R. England (CRE)]. This case was filed in 2002 by OOIDA, on behalf of its members, on the basis that CRE mishandled “set-offs” to their settlements.

On April 11, 2013, Judge George J. Limbert, in the United States District Court Northern District of Ohio Eastern Division, determined Plaintiff Sondra Zents (Zents) to be properly classified as an Independent Contractor by Defendant Baylor Trucking Company (Baylor).

On February 4, 2013, the California Workers Compensation Appeals Board (WCAB) determined an Independent Contractor driver to be an employee of the company to which she provided services.

The United States District Court Southern District of Texas Houston Division and United States District Court Southern District of Texas Victoria Division decide differently on the classification of Independent Contractors in two separate cases. One of the Judges in the Houston Division determined a worker who was classified as an Independent Contractor in the technology field to be an employee. However, a Judge in the Victoria Division determined a worker who was classified as an Independent Contractor in the security field to be proper.

The California Court of Appeals reversed a decision made by the lower courts which compelled arbitration in a wage and hour class action case filed by an employee.

On April 3, 2013, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee granted a Motion for Summary Judgment determining that Section 148B (the Massachusetts Independent Contractor Law) is preempted by the Federal Aviation Administration Act of 1994 (FAAAA).

On April 1, 2013, a group of Plaintiffs filed a Motion for Class Certification on FedEx Ground for misclassifying them as Independent Contractors under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 149, § 148B (the Independent Contractor Law).

On February 20, 2013, the US Department of Labor (USDOL) issued a press release stating they found a Florida based company’s, Albuquerque office, had misclassified six of its workers.

On March 12, 2013 Morgan Lewis, a law firm founded in 1873, with more than 1,600 legal professionals—including lawyers, patent agents, benefits advisers, regulatory scientists, and other specialists—in 24 offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia, filed submitted comments on the Independent Contractor Misclassification Survey (Survey) proposed by the USDOL.

On March 26, 2013, the Connecticut Department of Labor Communications Office distributed a media release that stated: “The Connecticut Department of Labor’s Division of Wage and Workplace Standards issued Stop Work orders to 27 companies working at construction project sites in Stamford during the period of January 9 to March 14”.

On February 20, 2013, Senator John J. Carona (R) introduced Senate Bill 676 entitled an act relating to the classification of certain construction workers and the eligibility of those workers for unemployment benefits; providing penalties.

On February 7, 2013, the Committee on Commerce, Labor, and Energy introduced two Senate Bills that address Employee Misclassification:
Senate Bill 95 and Senate Bill 96

On January 16, 2013, Michigan Senate Majority Leader, Randy Richardville, introduced Senate Bill 1 which can be cited as the “employee classification act”.

The United States is not alone in its attack on the Independent Contractor Model. The Province of Ontario is now requiring that Independent Operators, in the Construction industry, purchase WSIB Insurance (Ontario’s version of Workers Compensation) from the Province.

Massachusetts Representative, Joseph F. Wagner, drafts House Bill 3198 in conjunction with the Massachusetts Motor Truck Association (MMTA). The draft Bill will modify the current General Law at Chapter 149, Section 148B. The draft Bill recommends a change to the modified ABC Test by adding a 7 point test that is specific to the Trucking and messenger/courier industries.

There are three Bills in the Arizona House of Representatives addressing erroneous payments made by the Arizona Department of Economic Security (ADES). On Tuesday, February 5th 2013, Representative Tom Forese introduced HB2279 to the Committee for Retirement and Insurance in the House of Representatives. During the hearing, Representative Forese stated “the definition of an Independent Contractor needs to be more clearly defined, in general, in Arizona. The ADES is liberally interpreting the law to give workers who are Independent Contractors access to “employee” benefits such as unemployment compensation,” claims Representative Forese.

The Mississippi Department of Employment Security, (MDES) has increased misclassification awareness by adding information about the topic to their website. The information addresses the definition of an “employee” and the facts that need to be considered when classifying a worker.

Governor Bill Haslam drafts proposed workers compensation reform measures. The Tennessean reports, “…a 67-page working draft obtained by The Tennessean indicates Haslam is considering major changes to the 94-year-old system, which was last overhauled nearly a decade ago.”

On January 25, 2013, a federal appeals court three-judge panel rules that President Obama abused his powers when appointing three members to the National Labor and Relations Board (NLRB) during a Senate “recess”.

The Oregon Employment Department Tax Section investigates the relationship between Compressed Pattern, LLC (Petitioner), an architect design company, and Jason Singer (Jason) claiming the Petitioner did not pay the appropriate taxes on wages paid to Jason.
In this case, Jason provided services to the Petitioner but was ruled to be an employee by an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) at a hearing. Therefore, the Petitioner brought the matter to the Court of Appeals for a judicial review.

Several representatives in Washington State have introduced House Bill 1440 (HB 1440). The Bill is targeted at the misclassification of employees as Independent Contractors.

The Louisiana Court of Appeals agrees that Jason Courtney (Courtney) is an employee for workers compensation purposes. In the case, Jason Courtney v. Fletcher Trucking, the Office of Workers Compensation (OWC) determined that Courtney did not meet the Independent Contractor exemption for the trucking industry.

Senator Puckett offered Senate Bill 879 on January 9, 2013. The Bill would amend section 2.2-205.2 of the Virginia Code by establishing an Employee Misclassification Task Force.

The Appellate Court of Illinois, First District, Workers Compensation Commission Division recently issued two decisions on the status of Independent Contractors. In both cases the Appellate Courts were asked to decide whether a worker was an Independent Contractor or an employee for purposes of workers compensation benefits. The facts in both matters were very different and so were the decisions.

On January 17, 2013, Iowa became the 14th State to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the US Department of Labor (USDOL). The partnership allows the Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) and the US DOL agencies to share information about companies that misclassify their workers.

The US Department of Labor (US DOL), Wage and Hour Division has proposed an Information Collection Request (ICR) for a survey addressing workers understanding of misclassification. The request can be viewed on the Federal Registry website.

Companies push for employee misclassification legislation in the state of Texas.

The Missouri Department of Labor & Industrial Relations (MO DOL) increases their efforts to educate employers and workers on misclassification. The MO DOL has added information to their website that asks the question: “Are you OFF THE BOOKS?” and launched Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube pages that also address misclassification.

Effective January 1, 2013, Michigan adopts a 20 Factor test to determine independent contractor status for workers’ compensation purposes.

Effective December 31, 2012, Maine replaces the old definition of an independent contractor under the Workers’ Compensation Act and the Maine Department of Labor with a unified approach and a new definition.

Membership in local chapter of national organization expands CMS’ reach within small business community

Transportation companies with independent contractor relationships should brace themselves for potential misclassification challenges from multiple fronts.

Governor Lynch’s Executive Order #2101-3 of September 3, 2010, established the Joint Agency Task Force on Employee Misclassification Enforcement.

On remand from the Ninth Circuit, the United States District Court for the Southern District of California issued its decision on August 27, 2012, holding Affinity Logistics Corporation (“Affinity”), a motor carrier, carried its burden of establishing it properly classified as independent contractors a certified class of former owner-operator delivery drivers (the “contractors”) under California law. Ruiz v. Affinity Logistics Corp., No. 05CV2125, slip op. at 21 (S.D. Cal. Aug. 27, 2012).

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue may be overseeing the most anti-union, “Right-to-Work” state in the nation, but that didn’t stop her from issuing Executive Order 125 last week, thus creating a task force to combat the state’s problem with employee misclassification.

Gov. Bev Perdue today issued Executive Order 125 establishing a task force on employee misclassification.