Category Archives: Uncategorized

01.30.17
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Four FMLA Traps When Using Temp Workers — and How to Avoid Them

The FMLA is full of traps for companies who use staffing agency workers, both for staff augmentation and temp-to-hire. Here are a few of the most common mistakes and how to avoid them:

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photo credit: ransomtech Chimney Bluffs State Park via photopin (license)

1. Mistake: Not counting staffing agency time as service time, when determining whether the worker has worked for 12 months.

Tip: Staffing agency time counts. Add staffing agency time plus regular employee time to determine whether the worker has 12 months of service time. Accumulate all time worked during the past seven years. Continue reading →

01.27.17
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Joint Employment Update: What’s The Status of Browning-Ferris and the NLRB?

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In August 2015, the NLRB rewrote the book on joint employment, declaring in the Browning-Ferris case that the right to exercise minimal control, even if not actually exercised, was enough to create a joint employment relationship.  (Read more here.) Previously, joint employment under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) required the actual exercise of a meaningful level of control.

But what’s happened since then? What happens next? What should employers expect in 2017 regarding joint employment under the NLRA?

Continue reading →

01.23.17
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Can You Pay a Contractor Overtime? Should You?

independent-contractor-questionsLet’s talk about good old-fashioned 1099 Independent Contractors — you know, those individuals who are happy to be called contractors until they’re released and then decide they should have been treated as employees.

When retaining a contractor, one of the goals, of course, is to ensure that the contractor is properly classified and is not really (factually) an employee. A secondary goal, however, is to limit liability if the contractor is misclassified.

Today’s question sits at the intersection of these two goals. Continue reading →

01.17.17
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New NYC Law Requires Written Agreements for Solo Contractors, Even Nannies and Babysitters!

baby-tears-small-child-sad-47090Do you have a nanny or a housekeeper? A regular babysitter? If so, pay attention.

Anyone hiring a solo independent contractor in New York City will need to comply with the Freelance Isn’t Free Act, which takes effect May 15, 2017. Anyone. Individuals included.

The Act requires a written agreement for all contracts where the value of services is $800 or more, either in a single contract or in the aggregate over the past 120 days.  Continue reading →

12.26.16
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Why Misclassification Matters

Uh Oh!

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With a finding of worker misclassification, the workers you thought were not your employees are suddenly deemed your employees.  What does that mean practically?  It means that you have not been complying with all of the laws that apply to employees.

Continue reading →

12.23.16
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Welcome

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Once upon a time, it was easy for companies to know who their employees were.  Not so much anymore.

With the rise of the gig economy and other creative workforce arrangements, the lines between employee and non-employee have blurred.

Companies often prefer the flexibility of retaining non-employee workers.  These relationships come in many varieties — independent contractors, consultants, staffing agency workers, outsourced vendors, etc.  Many workers prefer these flexible relationships too.  But a growing chorus of government agencies and class action plaintiffs have begun to cry foul. Continue reading →