Category Archives: Misclassification

Rise of Online Shopping Bodes for More Dangerous Holiday Jobs

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X2_warehouseThe business press has trumpeted the fact that online sales outpaced in-store sales over the post-Thanksgiving weekend. A less-reported fact is that more temporary holiday jobs have shifted from in-store retail sales to more warehousing and transportation jobs that are more dangerous. This is especially true in the wintertime, when delivery drivers in many parts of the country are exposed to hazards from slippery surfaces and also to cold weather. 

Adding to the risk of transportation jobs is the fact that many transportation companies attempt to define their drivers as independent contractors, which means drivers would bear the cost of work injuries. Major holiday employer FedEx recently had to pay a $228 million settlement for misclassifying their delivery drivers as independent contractors. Similar arguments have been made against Uber, who is now attempting to compete with FedEx in the delivery business.

The mere fact that you signed an agreement where you agreed to be an independent contractor doesn’t necessarily mean that you are an independent contractor, but it could affect your ability to collect some employment benefits, like workers’ compensation benefits. If you are hurt as an independent contractor, you should contact an experienced workers’ compensation lawyer in your state, as laws are state specific. If you believe you are not being paid for breaks, overtime or even being paid the minimum wage as an independent contractor, then contact an experienced employment attorney as there are both federal and state laws that protect employees who are misclassified as independent contractors.

Employee misclassification adds another layer of risk for employees who hold second jobs over the holidays or any other time of the year. True independent contractors are not eligible for workers’ compensation, but many, if not most, temporary holiday jobs would not qualify for independent-contractor status. Workers’ compensation was never designed to compensate people for pain and suffering, but in the case of those injured on lower-paid holiday or second jobs, workers’ compensation benefits may not even remotely pay you for how an injury affects your ability to earn a living. Be sure to weigh the risks of taking a holiday job or any second job.

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

This entry was posted in employment law, Independent Contractor, Misclassification, Safety violations, Work Injury, workplace accidents, Workplace Injury, Workplace Safety and tagged , , , .

The Vanishing Concept of a Job

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Today’s post comes from respected colleague Jon Gelman from Jon Gelman, LLC – Attorney at Law in New Jersey. The idea of a steady job has evolved into instability for the worker, Mr. Gelman writes. This instability also means that because of the way temporary workers are employed, employers have no financial motivation to keep workers as safe as possible. And when a worker gets hurt, the transitory nature of a job translates to the hurt worker being more likely to be forced pay for their own injury or “the public at large” having to foot the bill. While the whole blog post is important for workers to consider, it’s also important for “the public at large” to consider, since workers’ injuries can end up affecting our pocketbooks while the businesses are able to collect their profits and put degrees of separation between them and the injured worker.

While reviewing some historical cases today, I realized that what is missing from the workplace is the concept of “a job.” America’s economy has dramatically changed, and so have jobs that were once available its workforce.

Even clearer is the fact that the concept of a job has disappeared. The idea of getting up in the morning and going regularly to a job has even vanished. The evolution changed slowly with the young generation claiming that a job cycle transformed from a lifetime position to one lasting two years. Then the next stage in the evolution occurred, where the employee became a transient worker and daily the job changed and no stable employer really exists.

This evolution has eroded the underlining framework of a functional workers’ compensation program and the delivery of benefits. The injured worker becomes lost to the system, and a safe and secure workplace becomes an illusion. Lost in the complexity is the adequate reporting of accidents and occupational disease, and the ability to accurately follow the evolution of latent diseases and medical conditions.

“A new trend in the U.S. labor market is reshaping how management and workers think about employment, while at the same time reshaping the field of occupational safety and health. More and more workers are being employed through “contingent work” relationships. Day laborers hired on a street corner for construction or farming work, warehouse laborers hired through staffing agencies, and hotel housekeepers supplied by temp firms are common examples, because their employment is contingent upon short term fluctuations in demand for workers. Their shared experience is one of little job security, low wages, minimal opportunities for advancement, and, all too often, hazardous working conditions. When hazards lead to work-related injuries, the contingent nature of the employment relationship can exacerbate the negative consequences for the injured worker and society. The worker might quickly find herself out of a job and, depending on the severity of the injury, the prospects of new employment might be slim. Employer-based health insurance is a rarity for contingent workers, so the costs of treating injuries are typically shifted to the worker or the public at large. Because employers who hire workers on a contingent basis do not directly pay for workers’ compensation and health insurance, they are likely to be insulated from premium adjustments based on the cost of workers’ injuries. As a result, employers of contingent labor may escape the financial incentives that are a main driver of business decisions to eliminate hazards for other workers.”

Click here to read “At the Company’s Mercy: Protecting Contingent Workers from Unsafe Working Conditions”

The offices of Rehm, Bennett, Moore & Rehm, which also sponsors the Trucker Lawyers website, are located in Lincoln and Omaha, Nebraska. Five attorneys represent plaintiffs in workers’ compensation, personal injury, employment and Social Security disability claims. The firm’s lawyers have combined experience of more than 95 years of practice representing injured workers and truck drivers in Nebraska, Iowa and other states with Nebraska and Iowa jurisdiction. The lawyers regularly represent hurt truck drivers and often sue Crete Carrier Corporation, K&B Trucking, Werner Enterprises, UPS, and FedEx. Lawyers in the firm hold licenses in Nebraska and Iowa and are active in groups such as the College of Workers’ Compensation Lawyers, Workers' Injury Law & Advocacy Group (WILG), American Association for Justice (AAJ), the Nebraska Association of Trial Attorneys (NATA), and the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). We have the knowledge, experience and toughness to win rightful compensation for people who have been injured or mistreated.

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