Are you on the hit list?

The highest concentration of independent contractor misclassification lawsuits during the past 12 months seem to be in these areas:

• Agricultural workers
• Beauty consultants (sales)
• Cable installers
• Car services (passengers, ride-hailing services)
• Computer programmers
• Construction workers
• Consultants (various industries)
• Couriers
• Delivery drivers (food, goods, freight)
• Exotic dancers (strippers)
• Freelance writer/reporters/other journalism
• Information technology workers
• Installers (cabinets, appliances, windows, furniture)
• Insurance sales representatives
• Janitorial franchise owners (individuals)
• Maintainance workers
• Newspaper carriers
• Performers (actors, cheerleaders, wrestlers)
• Physicians
• Property inspection services
• Repair technicians
• Sales representatives
• Travel agents
• Truck drivers
• Yoga instructors

This list should not in any way suggest that the categories of workers in this list should be employees. That determination will depend on the facts in any given situation. All of these types of workers, however, have been plaintiffs in recent lawsuits alleging that they were misclassified as independent contractors and should have been deemed employees.

Companies who retain these types of workers as independent contractors should take proactive steps to evaluate the facts in these relationships, particularly under the variety of federal and state law tests that may apply. Companies should also remember that because different tests apply to different laws, workers may be properly classified as independent contractors under some laws and some tests, but may be deemed employees under other laws and other tests.

© 2017 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.