In a decision reiterating important independent contractor issues for employers, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals last week reversed a lower court decision holding that certain delivery drivers were properly classified as independent contractors under various provisions of the California
Ninth Circuit Rejects Employer’s Effort to Apply Another State’s Law to Treat California Workers as Independent Contractors
By John H. Lien
Tracking the trend of increased federal and state focus on the misclassification of workers, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently applied California law to hold that plaintiffs were entitled to a trial on the merits against…
Ninth Circuit Applies California Law Despite Choice-Of-Law Clause in Independent Contractor Agreement
In Narayan v. EGL, Inc., the employer, EGL, Inc. (“EGL”), is a global transportation company that provides “air and ocean freight forwarding, customs brokerage, [and] local pickup and delivery service.” EGL is incorporated and headquartered in Texas, but it operates…
Ninth Circuit Avoids Employer's Choice of Law Provision With Creative Reasoning.
By Alex Hernaez
The first sentence of the Ninth Circuit’s opinion in Narayan v. EGL., Inc. (filed July 13, 2010) explains what is at stake: “The California Labor Code confers certain benefits on employees that it does not afford independent contractors.” Indeed. At…