We earlier mentioned Sen. Obama’s primary employee rights bill - the Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007. It has not been enacted.
Sen. Clinton’s claim on employment law is the Employee Free Choice Act of 2007. The bill would eliminate NLRB elections where a majority of the barganing unit had signed cards for a union and […]
Sen. Obama introduced S. 2044, the Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007, in September of 2007. Co-sponsors are Boxer, Clinton, Durbin, Kennedy, Mikulski, and Murray.
S. 2044 would
* eliminate the statutory ban on IRS issuing regulations or revenue rulings on employee/independent contractor status;
* eliminate the employer defense of reliance on industry practice;
* […]
Sierra Nevada Community Access Television, Inc. broadcasts film produced by members of the public (including “aspiring Wayne Campbells”). It is governed by an unpaid, volunteer Board of Directors. When the Board fired its Executive Director, he sued under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. The ED claimed that the […]
Non-compete provisions undercut employer argument
An Oakland, California, taxicab company refused to bargain with the union representing its drivers, claiming that they were independent contractors rather than employees. The NLRB found that the drivers were statutory employees and held that the company violated the NLRA by refusing to bargain with the drivers’ union. On appeal, the 9th […]
Annual tax bill could be over $300 million
We recently reported on the FedEx Ground litigation in Anchorage federal court. There, the driver of an “independent contractor” for FEG claimed that he had a “joint employent” relationship with FEG. Judge Burgess denied FEG’s summary judgment motion on the classification issue.
Saturday’s Wall Street Journal (12/22/07, A-4) now […]
Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal (12/03/07, A-14) carried an article about the tax status of the security guards employed by Blackwater Worldwide in Iraq. Blackwater classifies the guards as independent contractors, arguing, according to the WSJ, that they “like the ability to come and go between assignments, which [the IC status] makes easier.” Chairman Henry Waxman (D-Cal) […]
Employers are sometimes tempted to characterize employees as “independent contractors,” hoping thereby to avoid certain tax obligations. Several years ago, Microsoft came out on the losing end when its “ICs” successfully sued to recover pension benefits. Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp., 120 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 1997)(en banc). More recently, FedEx “ICs” in California have recovered work-related expenses under […]
