Independent Contractors

Third Circuit Employment Law 101: Independent Contractor or Employee

July 23, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Back when I first started this blog, when I believed that my blogging success would translate into Aston Martins and beach homes, rather than “Can you please email me a copy of your FMLA PowerPoint?”, I had a series of “Third Circuit Employment Law 101” posts. Well, I don’t think I’ve done a “101” post for nearly 5 years. Time to break that streak.

Oh, hold on a sec, I need to respond to another PowerPoint-request email…

6 tell-tale signs, according to the DOL, that your workplace is a hot wage-and-hour mess.

July 16, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

In my younger days, I had a summer job in college where I clocked in at 9 and left at 5. They gave me a desk, a computer, training, a supervisor, job instruction, and a not-so-fatty paycheck. But, at least, nothing got withheld from my paycheck.

They called me an independent contractor and gave me a 1099.

Yeah, about that… Continue reading

Just how nervous should companies be about FLSA lawsuits over employee smartphone use? (Hint: very)

May 22, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

“Once is happenstance. Twice is coincidence. Three times is enemy action.”

(I’m pretty sure that was from Ferris Bueller)

Yesterday, in the Wall Street Journal, I read Lauren Weber’s article “Can You Sue the Boss for Making You Answer Late-Night Email?” And the answer is yes, provided that you are a non-exempt employee under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the time you spend answering that email is more than a few minutes a week. It’s no different than when an employee checks company email at work. Work is work. Employees get paid to work. Continue reading

We now have an employee/independent contractor test in NJ for wage and hour

January 16, 2015 | by Eric B. Meyer

Oyez oyez.

The New Joisy Supreme Court just fashioned a test to determine whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor for purposes of resolving a wage-payment or wage-and-hour claim. And, shockingly, it doesn’t involve jughandles, diners, or Taylor Ham.

(I live in NJ now, so I can say that stuff and get away with it).

I’ve got all the details after the jump…

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Welcome to the Employment Law Blog Carnival: Hollywood Villains Edition

November 20, 2013 | by Eric B. Meyer

Welcome everyone to the Employment Law Blog Carnival. What you’ll find after the jump is the best, recent posts from around the employment-law blogosphere all organized around a common theme.

So, yeah, we need a theme.

[Lousy blog rules]

Two years ago, we spun some tunes with the “Employment Law Blog Carnival: Jukebox Edition.” That featured such hits like “If You Love HIPAA, Let Me See You Twerk It” and a Sex Pistols B-side hidden track about social media policies.

Last year, I went with the “Employment Law Blog Carnival: Hollywood Casting Call Edition.” To the casual internet user, my writing in that post may have seemed, oh, what’s the word, “deranged”? Here is an actual quote:

Stuart Rudner blogs “When trust has been destroyed: Just cause for dismissal.” The Canadian adaptation, “Haste Makes Waste,” is set for release next year and stars Dustin Diamond as Wayne Gretzky. No, not that Wayne Gretzky. Just some guy who plays a total screw-up and happens to have the same name as the “Great One,” which, in turn, helps him to keep his job.

But, to you, my fans, you recognize it as something more than the product of some bad salmon I ingested just before a marathon two-finger typing session. It’s gold!

So, mainly since my brain is fried from churning out this drivel — free drivel — every weekday, let’s stick with the Hollywood theme. How about the Employment Law Blog Carnival: Hollywood Villains Edition? Hannibal Lechter would approve, I’m sure. You may even see him after the jump.

So grab some liver, fava beans and nice chianti and click through to read the carnival offerings…

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What’s the tax treatment on a Georgia lap dance anyway?

September 21, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

After the jump, you’ll meet Karenza Clincy. She, along with other “nude, female exotic dancers,” sued The Onyx (safe for work), an Atlanta Nightclub, for wage and hour violations. The club claims that the dancers are independent contractors. The plaintiff-dancers claim that they are employees — and employees get minimum wage and time-and-a-half for overtime.

Who wins? ~~We all do.~~ Hit the jump for a trip down to the A-T-L (feat. Ludacris) and — what the heck were we talking about — oh yeah, the answer to some legal question…

Pornographers need employment lawyers too, you know.

July 14, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

Welcome everyone to the ~~first~~ last edition of T&A Thursday, where I update you on all that’s going on in the world of porn and employment law.

After the jump, it’s all the news that’s barely fit to print. (At least it’s safe for work)…

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Misclassifying an employee may void a non-compete agreement

April 19, 2011 | by Eric B. Meyer

In an unpublished opinion, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals denied a Pennsylvania company’s attempt to enjoin a former employee, who had entered into several restrictive covenants with the company, to compete directly against the company and solicit its customers.

What did this employer do wrong and how can you learn from its mistakes?

After the jump…

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