×
Thursday, April 16, 2026

Is the U.S. Supreme Court About to Dive Into the Independent Contractor Misclassification Field? November 2021 IC Law Update - JD Supra

The highlights of independent contractor legal developments in November 2021 focus on interstate transportation workers. Questions addressed by the courts last month included whether ride-sharing workers classified as independent contractors are considered interstate transportation workers and therefore exempted from the arbitration provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act, and whether the strict test in California for IC status, when applied to interstate truck drivers, is preempted by the federal law deregulating the airline and transportation industry.

Most, but not all, courts have ruled in favor of ride-sharing companies seeking to compel arbitration of drivers’ IC misclassification class actions. That result occurred again last month in two related class actions involving New Jersey ride-sharing workers, as reported below. In contrast, two federal appellate courts issued widely divergent opinions on the question of whether the strict ABC test for IC status under the nearly identical Massachusetts and California laws is preempted by the federal aviation and interstate transportation deregulation law.

As discussed below, the U.S. Supreme Court last month indicated that it is seriously considering whether to accept the preemption case, asking the U.S. Solicitor General to weigh in on this matter and provide the justices with the federal government’s position on the preemption issue in this hotly contested area involving the classification of independent contractors....



Read Full Story: https://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/is-the-u-s-supreme-court-about-to-dive-9921...