Publication Details
Transportation Brief: Ongoing Developments with the FLSA Joint Employer Rule
by Kelli M. Block, A. Jack Finklea
November 2, 2020
Earlier this year, the US Department of Labor (DOL) implemented a Final Rule providing direction on joint employer liability for federal wage and hour violations. The Final Rule focuses on whether the alleged joint employer exercises control over the terms and conditions of the work and essentially eliminates consideration of economic dependence on the alleged joint employer.
On September 8, 2020, a federal district court deemed much of the Final Rule invalid, finding (1) the Final Rule conflicts with the expansive definition of “employer” under the FLSA and (2) the DOL failed to justify the Final Rule’s departure from prior DOL guidance.
Whether the DOL appeals the court’s decision may rest on the results of the upcoming election. In the interim, companies should carefully evaluate the relationship they may have with their subcontractors’ employees (i.e., fleet drivers in the motor carrier context) to avoid costly potential liability.
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Transportation Brief: Prop 22’s Impact on the Transportation Industry
by Shannon M. Cohen , Gregory M. Feary , Christopher C. McNattThe gig economy – spearheaded and underwritten by major gig economy companies such as Uber, Lyft, and Doordash – has launched a high-profile campaign to prevent the application of California’s AB 5 law (and the ABC test it dictates) to determine a worker’s employee status. -
Transportation Brief: DOL Publishes IC Rule
by Shannon M. CohenOn September 25, 2020, the US Department of Labor (DOL) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to develop a consistent test for determining independent contractor (IC) status under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). -
Transportation Brief: No Circuit Split (Yet) on the FAA “Transportation Worker” Exemption
by Braden K. Core , Prasad Sharma , Ryan W. WrightIn the Summer edition of The Transportation Brief, we discussed the First Circuit’s recent holding that Amazon’s “AmFlex” delivery drivers are exempt from the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA), even if they do not cross state lines, because the goods they transport are moving in interstate commerce. Since then, the Ninth Circuit has agreed with the First Circuit in another case involving AmFlex drivers (over a strong dissent), while the Seventh Circuit reached the opposite conclusion (i.e., that delivery drivers are not exempt) in a case involving GrubHub. -
Transportation Brief: Spotlight on Mergers & Acquisitions
by Gregory M. Feary , Kathryne S. Feary-Gardner , Andrew K. Light , W. Todd Metzger , Jay D. Robinson,News regarding independent contractor misclassification considerations continues to make headlines. Among the many reasons that industry leaders follow these developments so closely is their potential to materially impact a business’s sale—both for a seller or a buyer. - Dispatches
Transportation Industry News & Trends