Meaghan E. Murphy
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Massachusetts’ highest court recently eased a burden on businesses by limiting their exposure to claims they are joint employers under state law. The Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) decided the test governing the joint employer inquiry is the multifactor standard of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and not the “ABC” test of the state’s independent contractor law. In doing so, the SJC (1) confirmed the more employer-friendly FLSA standard applies in Massachusetts and (2) provided important guidance to businesses in structuring their relationships with other firms, contractors, and vendors.
Facts
Credico (USA) LLC contracted with DFW Consultants, Inc., to provide door-to-door and other sales services for Credico’s clients. DFW in turn hired three individuals as salespersons to work on various marketing campaigns in Massachusetts. The company classified them as independent contractors instead of employees, apparently without consulting Credico.
The trio sued DFW, as well as Credico, for their alleged misclassification as independent contractors and related violations of Massachusetts’ wage and hour laws. They claimed Credico should be held liable because it was their joint employer as a result of the...
IDAHO — A woman previously ordered to pay $10 million in damages for making false claims about a professor’s role in the 2022 killings of four students at the University of Idaho has filed an appe...