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ARTICLE · 15 SEPTEMBER 2016

Independent Contractor Litigation Highlights The Need To Properly Classify Workers

Reinhart, Boerner, Van Deuren SC
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The US DOL has identified employers' misclassification of employees as independent contractors as one of the "most serious problems facing affected workers, employers and the entire economy."

United StatesEmployment and HR
Robert Driscoll
Robert Driscoll
Katie Triska
Katie Triska
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The United States Department of Labor ("DOL") has identified employers' misclassification of employees as independent contractors as one of the "most serious problems facing affected workers, employers and the entire economy." The Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") estimates that employers across the country have misclassified millions of employees as independent contractors.

Over the past year, the DOL's Wage and Hour Division has been working with the IRS and state agencies to investigate the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. Those investigations have led to awards of more than $74 million in back wages for more than 102,000 workers.

Most recently, Uber, a ride-sharing service, was the subject of allegations that it misclassified its drivers as independent contractors. In April 2016, Uber reached a settlement in a pair of class action lawsuits brought in California and Massachusetts. The proposed settlement would have allowed Uber to

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