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Tag: Employment Law Problems

Independent Contractor vs. Employee Podcast

How can you tell whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee? You can find all about the tests that Texas uses to determine whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor in my latest podcast episode. In the episode, I cover the classical twenty factor test adopted from the common law test to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor and I also review the new test used for workers in the gig economy. It is absolutely critical that companies use the correct test to classify their workers.

Many employers fail to properly classify independent contractors. Employers that perform an analysis to confirm whether a worker is an independent contractor can often avoid misclassification problems. No employer wants to be one of these companies that end up with huge fines and the loss of morale of new “employees” that now believe the company was cheating them out of the money that they were owed. It is obviously much better to correctly determine whether a worker is an independent contractor. 

Unfortunately, misclassification is one of the most common employment law problems. But most employers can correct these issues by reviewing the independent contractor tests and carefully applying the tests to their workers, which is why you don’t want to miss this episode.

The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, then you should speak with a lawyer about your specific issues. Every legal issue is unique. A lawyer can help you with your situation. Reading the blog, contacting me through the site, emailing me or commenting on a post does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and me.

The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.    

Employment Law Problems Episode 5: 2021 Labor and Employment Decisions at the Supreme Court

In this episode, I discuss the Supreme Court’s labor and employment law cases for the 2020-2021 term. Among the cases discussed are Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, which concerned access for unions to agricultural employers in California. The Court found that granting unions access for up to 3 hours per day for 120 days per year was a taking and the employers should have been compensated. I discuss what this case may indicate for other labor law cases in the future.

The episode also discusses California v. Texas, which concerns the Affordable Care Act; Henry Schein Inc. v. Archer and White Sales Inc., which deals with the enforceability of arbitration agreements; Fulton v. City of Philadelphia, which demonstrates the Court’s willingness to enforce religious rights and religious liberty; National Collegiate Athletic Association v. Alston, where the court held that the NCAA’s prohibition on education related benefits (e.g., scholarships) for college athletes violates antitrust laws and questioned the other compensation structures in college athletics; Tanzin v. Tanvir, another case where the court upheld religious liberty; TransUnion LLC v. Ramirez, a case concerning standing for class members in a class action; and Van Buren v. United States, which concerns individuals that exceed their access privileges on computers and will have implications for employers that try to protect their trade secrets. 

You can read more about the Supreme Court cases in this post: https://texaslaborlawblog.com/supreme-court-2020-2021-labor-and-employment-term-roundup/.

The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, then you should speak with a lawyer about your specific issues. Every legal issue is unique. A lawyer can help you with your situation. Reading the blog, contacting me through the site, emailing me or commenting on a post does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and me.

The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.

Introducing Employment Law Problems

I’ve re-branded my podcast as Employment Law Problems.

On the second episode of Work Law Problems,  second episode of Employment Law Problems, I discuss one of my favorite workplace topics: Workplace Investigations.

Workplace investigations are one of the most critical steps to respond to any employment law or other workplace problem. Unfortunately, many companies are ill prepared to conduct an investigation or do so in a haphazard manner. In this episode, I review how companies can successfully conduct investigations in the workplace. 

The first part of the episode covers what companies  should do before an investigation occurs including training managers, having a handbook, and having procedures in place for employees to raise complaints.

The second part of the episode concerns how to conduct an investigation including the biggest problems with investigations, how to interview witnesses, and how to gather evidence.

The third part of the episode reviews how to conclude an investigation including how to tell whether a witness is reliable and other factors that should be considered in making a determination. 

For more information on this topic you can read my posts on workplace investigations (https://texaslaborlawblog.com/how-to-conduct-effective-workplace-investigations/ and https://texaslaborlawblog.com/remote-investigations-in-the-workplace/), which cover much of the content that was discussed in this episode. 

The information provided in this blog is for educational purposes only and is not legal advice. If you need legal advice, then you should speak with a lawyer about your specific issues. Every legal issue is unique. A lawyer can help you with your situation. Reading the blog, contacting me through the site, emailing me or commenting on a post does not create an attorney-client relationship between any reader and me.

The information provided is my own and does not reflect the opinion of my firm or anyone else.

Brett Holubeck (of Houston, Texas) is the attorney responsible for this site.