In its last weeks, the Trump administration adopted regulations which would make it easier for workers to be classified as independent contractors. Those regulations never took effect. Now the Biden administration has rejected them, opting instead to keep the economic realities test.
The proposed but not implemented regulations would have allowed employers to exempt themselves from minimum wage and overtime laws if their workers were considered independent contractors under a new test whose factors favored such a finding. Had it passed, more workers would not have been covered by a number of laws, simply because they would not been considered employees. Such laws would have included not only the Fair Labor Standards Act governing overtime and minimum wage, but also state laws such as workers’ compensation. These workers also would not have been eligible for many benefits, including health insurance, and could not participate in 401k plans.
The current law which will remain in effect applies a multi-factor test to determine if a worker is an employee or an independent contractor. In announcing the decision to keep the existing economic realities test, the administration emphasized that federal law favors giving the broadest interpretation possible to the definition of an employee. This approach favors workers being classified as employees, thereby entitling such workers to the protections of federal law and benefits only available to employees.
If you have questions relating to the use of company-issued email or computers, or any other employment-related matter, contact Shavitz Law Group at (800) 616-4000 or email us at [email protected].
Gregg Shavitz, Shavitz Law Group, 951 Yamato Rd Ste 285, Boca Raton, FL and 800 3rd Ave, Suite 2800, New York, NY. Lawyers licensed in states including FL, NY, NJ, and TX. The choice of a lawyer is an important decision and should not be based on advertisements alone.
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It is common for employees to have company-issued email addresses and computers from their employers — which has especially been the case during the coronavirus pandemic when many employees are working from home. This raises an important question: should an employee have an expectation of privacy when they use their company-issued computers or email addresses for personal reasons? 
Almost every legal claim has to be asserted within a statute of limitations. Statutes of limitations are established by state and federal legislatures and set the deadlines for filing lawsuits. Claims for unpaid wages under the Fair Labor Standards Act, 29 USC § 201, et. seq. (FLSA) must be asserted within two years of the pay period in which the claim occurred, 29 USC § 255(a). In a case in which an employee can show that the employer’s failure to pay overtime was “willful” — meaning that the employer either knew or showed reckless disregard as to whether his or her conduct violated the FLSA — the statute of limitations can be extended to three years. For employees who worked in California, New Jersey or New York, the applicable state laws provide for longer statutes of limitations, allowing aggrieved workers even more time to assert their claims and potentially more damages.
Social media has become a global phenomenon. For many people, it’s difficult to remember a time when social media was not a prevalent part of life. While most individuals use social media to stay in touch with friends and family — or to follow politics, sports and entertainment news — many use these online platforms as a way to express their opinions on various topics. 
So you feel you may have a claim for unpaid wages, but then you think: “how do I prove it if I have no record of the hours I worked”? The Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”), 29 USC § 201, et. seq., which governs the payment of overtime and unpaid minimum wages across the United States, puts the burden of maintaining records of the hours employees work on the employer. The regulations interpreting the statute specifically require every employer to “make, keep, and preserve such records” of employees hours worked and the wages paid to them. 29 U.S.C. § 211(c); 29 C.F.R. § 516.2. An employer cannot transfer its recordkeeping obligation to the employee.
In a landmark decision, the United States Supreme Court ruled on Monday, June 