We highlight below the independent contractor misclassification and compliance developments that occurred in July and August 2022, but three deserve special mention. One of the most important judicial developments is a new lawsuit alleging that Perdue Farms misclassifies chicken growers as independent contractors. This lawsuit may signal that agribusiness is the next industry being targeted by class action lawyers. Another key legal development is a bipartisan initiative in Congress to propose legislation recognizing the legitimate use of independent contractors. While there is little likelihood that the pending bill will become law in this Congress, the fact it has bipartisan support suggests that it will be reintroduced in future sessions of Congress and may gain momentum. A third legal development is a regulatory initiative by the National Labor Relations Board and the Federal Trade Commission to coordinate agency action against companies, particularly those in the gig economy, regarded as undermining competition and the right to unionize through the misclassification of employees as independent contractors. There have been many coordinated agency efforts in the past that have focused on misclassification of independent contractors, but they have failed to result in any meaningful enforcement actions. Moreover, as explained below, the NLRB is not statutorily authorized to investigate companies referred to it by other administrative agencies, making any coordinated...
; ; Iran's Parliament Speaker, Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf, has warned Donald Trump that Tehran will close the Strait of Hormuz if the US continues its naval blockade, shortly after the US President ...