Cases challenging the independent contractor status of certain service providers under the wage-and-hour laws are likely to continue in the near future due to the difficulties in applying the law to complex factual patterns. The Department of Labor recently provided additional guidance for determining contractor status in the form of an Administrator’s Interpretation (and the
joint employer
(Another) Cable Provider Not Joint Employer of Installers
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
One common “joint employer” allegation which has been regularly rejected by courts is that a regional cable provider is a joint employer of its installation subcontractors’ employees or contractor installers, due to the alleged business or operational control the cable provider exerts over the subcontractor in how installation work is performed. A Missouri…
Indiana Appeals Court: Club Not “Employer” For Purposes of Commissions Claim
By Noel P. Tripp on
While wage-and-hour laws, like other employment laws. are generally “broad” and intended to foster the goal of worker protection, the scope of such laws is not limitless, as demonstrated by a recent decision from an Indiana appeals court addressing an alleged multiple or joint employer scenario. Rodriguez v. S. Dunes Golf, LLC, 2014 Ind.…
Ohio Court Concludes That Construction Trade Association Is Not Joint Employer
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
In recent months, we have discussed courts adjudicating claims seeking to hold municipalities and business’ clients‘ liable as “joint employers” for alleged unpaid wages under the FLSA. A new decision rejects a similar challenge brought with respect to a trade association. IBEW, Local Union No. 8 v. King Elec. Servs., 2014 U.S. Dist.…
General Contractors Defeat Claim of Joint Employer Status
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
Individuals employed by subcontractors in construction (and other industries) from time to time seek to go “up the food chain” and assert that control was exerted by general contractors on their job sites sufficient to render those general contractors “joint employers” for purposes of the wage laws. The goal of couse is to hold such…
Professor David Weil Confirmed As USDOL Wage-and-Hour Administrator
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Department of Labor
Finally filling the vacant seat of Wage-and-Hour Administrator, the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment of Boston University Professor David Weil to the position. Prevailing sentiment among business and labor leaders is that Administrator Weil’s administration will take a hard line on enforcement of the FLSA, consistent with the Obama administration’s publicized view that…
Second Circuit Affirms Ruling That NYC Was Not “Joint Employer”
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage, New York State
Affirming a 2013 district court ruling discussed in detail here, in a summary order the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that Eastern District of New York Magistrate Judge Joan M. Azrack did not err in finding that home attendants employed by a not-for-profit agency who provided personal care services to City…
Second Circuit Grants WARN Plaintiffs New Life On “Single Employer” Theory
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Furloughs
Potential wage liability attaches not only to hours already worked (under the FLSA), but also to violations of the Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act (WARN) which requires 60 days’ notice or pay in lieu of notice for covered plant closings or mass layoffs. One issue that can arise under the WARN act, as it…
Florida Court Rejects Joint Employer Allegation, Grants Summary Judgment to Bank In FLSA Suit
By Noel P. Tripp on
FLSA plaintiffs from time to time seek to include potential “deep pocket” defendants as alleged “joint employers,” claiming that the alleged joint employer’s control over the entity which employed them was sufficient such that FLSA liability should attach. Recently, another federal court joined the growing body of decisions rejecting such claims. Diaz v. U.S. Century …
District Court Holds As A Matter of Law That Home Attendants Are Not Jointly Employed By New York City
By Noel P. Tripp on
Posted in Coverage
Allegations of joint employment under the FLSA and other employment laws typically flow from control allegedly exercised by the purported “joint employer” over the primary employer and/or its employees. In a recent opinion rejecting such allegations, Magistrate Judge Joan Azrack of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York granted summary judgment…