independent contractor

ATA chief rips OOIDA stance on Biden independent contractor rule

Lewie Pugh of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association made only a few comments at his House of Representatives committee appearance July 24 about the Biden administration’s independent contractor (IC) rule. 

But they were enough to draw a strong rebuke from Chris Spear, president of the American Trucking Associations. Spear took to ATA’s Transport Topics website last week to express his displeasure with OOIDA and the comments by Pugh, who is an executive vice president of OOIDA and inc...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/ata-chief-rips-ooida-stance-on-biden-independent-contractor-rule

Supreme Court: Drivers hauling baked goods are in transportation, not baking

A truck driver hauling bread for a bakery is in the transportation business and is not a bakery worker, according to a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in a closely watched case involving an aspect of the legal status of drivers.

The decision, written by Chief Justice John Roberts, was unanimous.

It overturned both a decision by the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut and an appellate decision by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They had ruled that the drivers, who were...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/supreme-court-drivers-hauling-baked-goods-are-in-transportation-not-baking

Wisconsin court affirms Amazon Flex drivers were not independent contractors

A group of Amazon drivers who are part of the company’s Flex program have been affirmed by Wisconsin’s Supreme Court to be employees rather than independent contractors.

The state’s highest court on Wednesday declined to review an appeals court decision from last April that overturned a lower court decision.

A court in Waukesha County had ruled in favor of Amazon (NYSE: AMZN), which argued that its Flex drivers were independent contractors under state regulations. The Court of Appeals for...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/wisconsin-court-affirms-amazon-flex-drivers-were-not-independent-contractors

Further appeals to block AB5 from California trucking seen as a long shot

California’s trucking industry is facing the reality that its battle to keep the state’s AB5 independent contractor law out of the trucking sector is likely at a dead end.

Appeals are possible of the decision Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California that emphatically rejected all the arguments by the California Trucking Association (CTA) and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association. But several observers of the legal battle that has gone on for more...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/further-appeals-to-block-ab5-from-california-trucking-seen-as-a-long-shot

Truck drivers: FMCSA wants to see your leasing agreement

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WASHINGTON — If you’re a truck driver and have a lease agreement with a trucking company, federal...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-drivers-fmcsa-wants-to-see-your-leasing-agreement

14-year-old case that brought ABC test to New Jersey was just settled

The case that first brought the ABC test for determining independent contractor status into New Jersey involved truck drivers hauling bedding. Fourteen years later, the case has been settled out of court.

That’s just one development in recent weeks regarding the always contentious question of how a court or regulator determines whether a worker is an employee or a truly independent contractor.

In recent weeks, there has also been the Department of Labor’s independent contractor rule, which sets...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/14-year-old-case-that-brought-abc-test-to-new-jersey-was-just-settled

Viewpoint: Federal court reinstates Trump-era DOL independent contractor rule

A Texas federal district court recently reinstated the independent contractor rule that was put into place by President Trump’s Department of Labor. The rule was previously withdrawn by the Biden Administration.

Background

At the end of the Trump Administration in January 2021, the Department of Labor (DOL) issued a rule that sought to clarify the controlling factors for who is, and who is not, an independent contractor for purposes of the Fair Labor Standards Act. The rule consisted of two main...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/viewpoint-federal-court-reinstates-trump-era-dol-independent-contractor-rule

Truckers: Shuttered Central Freight Lines still owes them escrow, maintenance funds

Owner-operators and independent contractors say Central Freight Lines still hasn’t refunded thousands of dollars in escrow or maintenance account funds that were withheld from their paychecks and that they are still owed quarterly safety bonuses. 

Moreover, they say, no one at CFL has been returning their calls since the LTL carrier shuttered operations in mid-December.

A source familiar with the company told FreightWaves that up to 100 owner-operators and independent contractors have not...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truckers-shuttered-central-freight-lines-still-owes-them-escrow-maintenance-funds

Avoiding employee misclassification may be as easy as deploying the right technology

Gig workers remain at the center of a tug-of-war between labor and advocates for freedom of work choice. The companies that utilize them are constantly walking a line between independent contractor status and employee status – and the wrong choices can cost tens of thousands of dollars in fines, unpaid salaries and benefits, and reputational harm.

The workers themselves, though, when properly classified as independent contractors, too often are left in legal peril simply because there are...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/avoiding-employee-misclassification-may-be-as-easy-as-deploying-the-right-technology