Employment Blog

New York State Allows Uber Drivers to File Unemployment

Uber drivers are generally considered independent contractors. As independent contractors, they are not entitled to certain benefits that employees generally get. There are certain lawsuits that they cannot file against their employers, they are not subject to minimum wage or overtime requirements, and lastly, they are not entitled to unemployment. However, New York State has issued Uber a major blow, ruling that their drivers are entitled to receive unemployment benefits.

Read More »

Cerner Pays $4.5 Million to Settle Wage Theft Class Action

Among the most common labor disputes are those in which employees are misclassified in one form another. The majority of employees are eligible for minimum wage benefits, workers comp, and overtime. However, some employees are not eligible for overtime, and independent contractors, who are presupposed to be business owners, are not entitled to any of those. Most recently, Cerner Corporation attempted to fight off a class-action misclassification lawsuit in which

Read More »

Amazon’s Legacy of Employee Abuse

While Jeff Bezos rakes in billions of dollars, employees at Amazon warehouses complain of poor compensation and dangerous working conditions. Now, one Amazon warehouse contractor has been sued by employees and forced to settle for a reported $1.9 million. The plaintiffs supplied a litany of allegations against California Cartage Co., a logistics contractor, and a group of staffing companies that housed Amazon products. Those included: Wage theft; Failure to comply

Read More »

California Court Ruling Could Make Uber Drivers Employees

The so-called gig economy has made it much easier for employers to claim that their hired labor is made up of independent contractors as opposed to employees. The distinction is important because employees are entitled to a host of benefits to which independent contractors are not entitled. That includes the right to overtime pay, health insurance, workers’ compensation, and the right to sue under certain forms of discrimination. In other

Read More »

Rethinking the Gig Economy in California: The Dynamex Case

When delivery courier service Dynamex decided to convert its drivers in California to independent contractors, one employee chose to challenge the legality of this action. With a court ruling condemning the activities of Dynamex, the viability of businesses in a gig economy in the Golden State has come into question. Court Findings The Court’s decision was based on the premise that when businesses misclassify employees, it is a dangerous practice

Read More »

Misclassification Identified as Serious Threat to American Workers

One major area of concern for modern workers is how the so-called “gig economy” impacts their classification as an employee. With more freelancers and contractors entering the marketplace, employees still have several benefits to which freelancers are not entitled. These include the right to file discrimination and wrongful termination lawsuits against their employers. Employees are also entitled to overtime pay and unemployment should they be let go. This has led

Read More »

Chipotle Accused of Wage Theft in Massive Class Action

It is estimated that employers steal billions of dollars from their employees in unpaid wages every year in the US. While it certainly keeps the employment lawyers at HKM very busy, it is unfortunate that American workers have to go through the legal system in order to get what is entitled to them under US law, contractual agreement, and basic business ethics. It is especially difficult for employees who may

Read More »

Mount Rainier Seasonal Workers

Mount Rainier National Park is known around the world as a fascinating tourist attraction. It is the highest mountain in the state of Washington and is the highest point in the Cascade mountains. It is also situated close to Seattle, which provides tourists with a nearby base for visiting the park. It has incredible views and is an active stratovolcano, giving it an allure. It is also an active area

Read More »

Are Strippers Employees? Why This Question Matters

While many feel that sex work is by its very nature exploitative, the question of whether it qualifies as legally exploitative revolves around one central issue: Should strippers be classified as employees or independent contractors? On the surface, this question may seem trivial. The fact of the matter is that there are hundreds of thousands of Nevada employees who have cause against their companies for being misclassified as independent contractors

Read More »

New Job? Tips for Avoiding the Misclassification Trap

You searched Craigslist for months and finally landed that new job.  The terms seem acceptable, as they’ve offered to pay you a salary and give you something to do besides play video games and watch re-runs of SportsCenter for several hours a day.  You may have even gotten a paycheck or two, giving you the money to pay for dinner out on the weekend and the ability to get the

Read More »