Todd Lebowitz

On this blog, we will explore the various legal standards used to determine Who Is My Employee? We will examine new developments, trends, changes in the law, strategies, tips, and whatever else comes to mind.

Can Your Business Be Liable for Sexual Harassment by an Independent Contractor?

By Todd Lebowitz on August 12, 2019

Damage can come from unexpected places. Earlier this year, Brock Holt of the Boston Red Sox landed on baseball’s Injured List after his two-year old son poked him in the eye. Baseball players accept the risk of injury, but that’s not a way you’d expect to get hurt. I think you see where I’m going here. Don’t let an independent contractor become Brock Holt’s son. Yes, a business can be liable for harassment by…

Who Is My Employee?

How Do I Run a Background Check on an Independent Contractor?

By Todd Lebowitz on August 5, 2019

After the events of this past weekend, I don’t have to say anything about the risks involved in allowing dangerous people onto your premises. Before retaining an independent contractor who will have access to your business’s facilities, people, or information, it makes sense to know who you are inviting into your house. An employment-style background check is often appropriate, but there are a few important differences between background checks being run before hiring an employee…

Who Is My Employee?

How Do I Run a Background Check on an Independent Contractor?

By Todd Lebowitz on August 5, 2019

Who Is My Employee?

Do Over for California’s ABC Test? Retroactivity Issue is Headed Back to the State Supreme Court

By Todd Lebowitz on July 29, 2019

“Placido Domingo’s pretty great, but I also love Pavarotti.” In Hampshire, England, there is a veterinarian who sings opera to cows. Now if your spidey-sense is as tingly as mine, you’ll immediately realize there is something wrong with this picture. It’s obvious, right? It should be an opera singer who sings opera to cows, not a veterinarian. Vet school does not include the proper classical training. While this Hampshire vet has apparently not realized…

Who Is My Employee?

Can Study Time be Considered Employment? Yes, Says a Federal Court

By Todd Lebowitz on July 22, 2019

Sam Cooke admittedly didn’t know much about history, didn’t know much about biology, didn’t know much about a science book, and didn’t know much about the French he took. That’s probably because he didn’t study. Studying can have its rewards, but can those rewards include being paid to study? Yes, says a federal court in Arizona—at least under one set of facts. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), time spent working must be…

Who Is My Employee?

Future of “Joint Employment” Test May Be at Issue, as NLRB Chair Files Complaint Against NLRB’s Inspector General.

By Todd Lebowitz on July 15, 2019

From the county sheriff’s scratch-and-sniff twitter account Police officers in Clay County, Missouri were searching for a suspect wanted for felony possession. They brought out the K9 crew. The suspect was hiding and, so far so good. But then… According to Fox 4 in Kansas City, the suspect passed gas so loudly that he gave his location away. The police sniffed him out and cuffed him. Stinks for that guy. There’s another search-and-destroy mission…

Who Is My Employee?

Future of “Joint Employment” Test May Be at Issue, as NLRB Chair Files Complaint Against NLRB’s Inspector General.

By Todd Lebowitz on July 15, 2019

Who Is My Employee?

Will NY Lawmakers Create a New Class of “Dependent Contractors”? If So, It Could Be a Work of Art.

By Todd Lebowitz on July 8, 2019

This piece of art hung in the bedroom at the apartment I rented on my recent vacation in Paris. See the shadow of the dog? Yep. See the shadow of the horse? Yep. See the shadow of the rider? Oops. I expected it to be there. Chalk up another win for bad art. Art requires creativity and, sometimes, a different perspective. Things are not always the way we expect them to be. That can be…

Who Is My Employee?

Opinion Piece Asks California Not to Be the Pigeon in this Photo

By Todd Lebowitz on July 1, 2019

I took this picture last week in Paris, walking through the Jardin des Tuileries with my family, just outside the Louvre. If you think of the statue as being ride-share giants Uber and Lyft, and if you think of the California state legislature as the pigeon, you’ll know why Uber and Lyft’s chief executives joined forces to write this opinion piece in the San Francisco Chronicle. As we explained here, California seems…

Who Is My Employee?

Reefer Madness? Did Colorado Just Criminalize Independent Contractor Misclassification?

By Todd Lebowitz on June 24, 2019

The state that brought us legalized recreational marijuana and local decriminalization of psychedelic mushrooms may be a bigger buzzkill than we thought — at least for businesses using independent contractors. A new Colorado law reclassifies the failure to pay wages as theft, which sounds pretty chill; but the way the law is written, it could have the effect of making independent contractor misclassification a crime. Failing to pay wages under Colorado law includes failing to…

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Can Your Business Be Liable for Sexual Harassment by an Independent Contractor?

How Do I Run a Background Check on an Independent Contractor?

How Do I Run a Background Check on an Independent Contractor?

Do Over for California’s ABC Test? Retroactivity Issue is Headed Back to the State Supreme Court

Can Study Time be Considered Employment? Yes, Says a Federal Court

Future of “Joint Employment” Test May Be at Issue, as NLRB Chair Files Complaint Against NLRB’s Inspector General.

Future of “Joint Employment” Test May Be at Issue, as NLRB Chair Files Complaint Against NLRB’s Inspector General.

Will NY Lawmakers Create a New Class of “Dependent Contractors”? If So, It Could Be a Work of Art.

Opinion Piece Asks California Not to Be the Pigeon in this Photo

Reefer Madness? Did Colorado Just Criminalize Independent Contractor Misclassification?

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