Independent contractor or employee? What you call workers doesn’t matter. Different laws use different tests to determine a worker’s status, and those laws are frequently changing and being updated. The Department of Labor and National Labor Relations Board keep changing their rules. States are amending and passing new legislation, with different tests for different state laws and sometimes different industries.
The latest trends include state and local freelancer laws, workplace fraud acts, and safe harbor certifications.
Is your business compliant? Are your agreements compliant? Our experienced Labor and Employment attorneys build comprehensive, nationwide independent contractor programs that are designed to limit your exposure to misclassification claims, whether brought by disgruntled workers, plaintiffs’ class action firms, federal or state agencies, or state prosecutors.
Being proactive is the key to long-term success, since it’s too late to change an employee’s status once a claim is filed. We review the facts of the relationship, recommend updates intended to preserve the business purpose of the contractor arrangement and build programs designed to best position your business to withstand a legal challenge.
Ask us how gatekeepers, vendor qualification questionnaires and old-time balancing scales can work for you.
