The short answer is…. well, there is no short answer. What? Do independent contractors and non-compete agreements mix or not? Maybe. Most often probably not, but sometimes yes. OK, that’s more double-talk than usual. What gives? When can and can’t a company compel an independent contractor to sign a binding non-compete without risk of […]
Your Independent Contractor Messed Up — And Now You’re Liable????
If you own or run a business, chances are you have outsourced certain services to independent contractors–and, understandably, you rely on them to do the job well and exercise due care while doing it. Let’s assume for the moment that these particular workers are properly classified as independent contractors. If they mess up the work […]
The Perils of Truck Drivers, Sales Reps and 1099’s
Last week’s discussion about Sleepy’s and Uber drivers steered us back (see what I did there?) toward independent contractor-versus-employee issues. Click here if you missed that post. Many companies hire drivers, call them independent contractors and have no repercussions. Other companies may not have drivers but rely on salespeople hired as “independent contractors” Mmmmm weeell, […]
Sleepy’s and Uber: Driving the Worker Classification Debate?
You may not need me to tell you that 2015 has been an extraordinary year for changes in employment law. While many of the issues in and of themselves are not new, we have seen some cases that provide a new twist. This week’s hot-but-maybe-not-so-new issue is worker classification, i.e. employee v. independent contractor. Yes, […]
How Will the DOL Decide if Your Independent Contractor is Really an Employee?
So the United States Department of Labor thinks most workers should be classified as employees and not independent contractors. That’s not really anything new. The DOL last month issued yet another guidance on this very issue. We got our first overview of the DOL’s guidance last week, which you can find here. The crux of […]