Posts tagged employees
House Panel Advances GOP Bill to Ban College Athletes as Employees
June 17, 2024 // Good suggested that college athletes should be pleased with having recently "won new freedoms," including name, image and likeness and the ability to transfer schools without enhanced restriction. Classifying those developments as "new freedoms" is debatable. NIL removed NCAA restrictions barring athletes from using a legal right they already possessed, the right of publicity, and only came about after states passed NIL statutes. As to the NCAA lifting transfer restrictions, that only surfaced after the NCAA lost in court on those very restrictions.
Op-Ed: Many federal public union employees remain AWOL
May 28, 2024 // "I'll get these people back to work if I have to send in troops to get them." – Joe Biden In response to Biden's plans to end "federal work at home offices" last week, the White House Office of Management issued a time sensitive guidance for agencies to “substantially increase productive in-person work at Federal offices, particularly at headquarters and their equivalents.” Biden's mandate went over like a lead balloon with federal unionized employees who were told that Biden's harsh decree to return to work possibly violated their union contract.
Fair pay for Uber drivers belongs on ballot, Massachusetts court suggests
May 7, 2024 // A group supported by Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and Instacart is promoting ballot initiatives that would establish that the companies’ drivers are contractors who are exempt from the state’s employment laws — which means that they aren’t entitled to minimum wages, overtime, paid sick leave, unemployment insurance or health benefits. Meanwhile, an initiative promoted by drivers would allow them to form a union and engage in collective bargaining. Both sides claim the other is trying to confuse voters and “logrolling” by combining unrelated provisions into one petition. The state attorney general’s office approved all the initiatives and found itself in the odd position of defending both sides in court.
Opinion: Biden rule threatens to throw independent contracting into disarray
March 6, 2024 // For example, the U.S. Postal Service uses 7,900 contracted delivery services to reach about 3 million of its delivery points. The plainclothes carrier who delivers mail via her personal vehicle to my home in Shenandoah, Va., is presumably one of these contract drivers. Under the Biden administration’s new rule, she and potentially thousands of individuals like her would almost certainly be considered employees. That is because the work these contractors perform is “integral” to the Postal Service; the Postal Service exercises a high degree of direct and indirect control over these individuals by mandating where and when the work must be done, and the delivery contractors are not exercising significant “skill” or “initiative.”
Worker misclassification could cost big bucks for small businesses
February 22, 2024 // Audited companies found to have misclassified employees face significant penalties. Just federally that means repaying all the employer portions of taxes that had been paid by employees and a portion of the employee contribution. There are also interest and penalty costs. “That’s just the tax piece,” Panning said. “If there’s a class action lawsuit by these independent contractors saying we’re employees, we deserve the benefits, then it’s even more because you get into the court system.”
Op-ed: Watch out — California’s damaging gig workers law is going nationwide
February 20, 2024 // The rule is slated to take effect on March 10. U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.) have both declared they will use the Congressional Review Act to have this rule rescinded. Previous legislation has been tendered in support of small businesses and the self-employed. The “Fight for Freelancers” group of female writers and editors has filed a lawsuit challenging this rule, which serves to appease Big Labor in the same manner as AB5.
Dartmouth Basketball Players can now Unionize
February 8, 2024 // The players were ruled to be employees of the school, meaning they can unionize. Not only will the players be able to negotiate their salaries, but also their practice hours and when they will travel to and from games. However, this would go against the NCAA’s amateurism rule, which states that athletes can not be compensated for competing in college athletics unless the money they receive is from scholarships and expenses. The problem is that Ivy League schools do not award scholarships for athletics meaning the Dartmouth men’s basketball team are essentially playing for free. Another problem is that these athletes are being overworked. According to the players, they testified that they were spending over 40 hours a week playing basketball. The NCAA only allows teams to practice 20 hours a week.
Some Tesla workers say they’d never join a union, even as Ford and GM workers get big raises
November 7, 2023 // The United Auto Workers might have set its sights on Tesla, but some workers at the EV company told Insider they'd be hard-pressed to join a union. After reaching tentative agreements with Detroit automakers, the union's president, Shawn Fain, said last week that the UAW aims to expand its reach. And what better target than the most valuable car company in the world?
Opinion Scherer: Government scrutiny of ‘gig workers’ Is misplaced
August 23, 2023 // The Labor Department published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking on the subject last year, but a final rule isn’t expected until October. Legal experts rightly criticized the proposed rule as an “ABC test in sheep’s clothing.” By this, they mean the rule seeks to mimic a 2018 California Supreme Court test known as the ABC Test, which made it more difficult for companies to hire workers as independent contractors. While it is impossible to know what Labor’s final rule will look like, final rules don’t typically differ significantly from proposed rules, making the prospect of an impartial final rule unlikely. This is terrible news for millions of American independent contractors who overwhelmingly like and support their working arrangements. For instance, a 2020 Morning Consult survey of independent contractors found that 71 percent believed “the freedom of being an independent contractor outweighs the benefits of being an employee.” A more recent 2022 study by MBO Partners found that 76 percent of independent contractors were “very satisfied with independent workers.” In addition, 84 percent said they were “happier” working independently, with 80 percent reporting that independent contracting was better for their health. These views are consistent with Bureau of Labor Statistics data showing that “79 percent of independent contractors preferred their arrangement over a traditional job.”