On November 16, 2022, the Department of Labor announced that it had recovered $1.2 million in back wages from four different home health care agencies on behalf of 599 home healthcare workers. One of the responsible employers, Guardian Angels Care Services, Inc., owed $160,477 in overtime back wages for misclassifying its employees as independent
Misclassification
DOL Issues Administrator Interpretation on Misclassification of Independent Contrators
I’ve written several times on the topic of employee v. independent contractor misclassification (here, here, here, here, here, here). Yesterday, the DOL issued an Administrator’s Interpretation attempting to provide additional guidance, and the Department’s opinion, on the application of the standards for determining whether a worker is an…
Fifth Circuit Confirms Use of Fluctuating Workweek Method of Overtime Calculation in Misclassification Case
In settlement negotiations and trial of FLSA overtime misclassification cases, there is usually a disagreement between the parties as to how the unpaid overtime should be calculated. Attorneys representing employees typically want overtime calculated using a 1.5 times the regular rate of pay for each overtime hour that was worked. Attorneys representing companies typically want to utilize…
IRS Provides Semi-Safe Harbor to Fix Independent Contractor Misclassification Problems
I am always skeptical when I hear a deal that sounds too good to be true. Because of my healthy skepticism, I hope that I am unlikely to be scammed by the phishing e-mail advising me a foreign distant relative has left me a lot of money and I only need to send a few thousand dollars to an off-shore bank…
Companies Using Independent Contractors Beware: State and Federal Taxing Authorities Becoming More Aggressive in Challenging Those Classifications
Companies using independent contractors to perform work normally performed by employees beware; state and federal governmental taxing authorities are challenging those classifications in an effort to increase tax revenue on wages that are not properly reported. According to a recent article by the Associated Press, "the Internal Revenue Service and 37 states are cracking down on…