In New York, after prevailing in trial court, unpaid interns for Fox Entertainment Group were able to receive class credit and minimum wage for their work on the set of the film “Black Swan.” Their win made the Second Circuit Court of Appeals adopt a test to be used in determining whether an unpaid intern [...]
The Massachusetts Workers’ Compensation Advisory Council has released its Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Report (PDF link). This report contains some eyebrow-raising statistics. Between 2008 and 2014, Massachusetts was able to help over 50,000 workers' receive coverage due to Stop Work Orders (SWOs). In 2014 alone the Agency was able to obtain insurance for over 5,000 workers' [...]
To avoid misclassifying your workers' follow these tips: Don’t make assumptions. If you are a business owner you should consult a tax professional and an attorney to ensure you are complying with IRS and labor laws when hiring staff or contractors. If contracting with staffing companies or labor brokers, make sure those agencies are properly [...]
Number Value Non-Employee Fraud Cases 9 $ 74,876,000.00 Employee Fraud Cases 1 $ 450,000.00 Total $ 75,326,000.00 Five of the top ten fraud cases in 2014 are from California. The other five cases are from Florida, Texas, Arizona, Washington and Georgia. As usual, non-employee fraud cases dominated the list and the dollar amounts are staggering, [...]
AARP has advised its members to be careful as they use Internet services. For example, have you ever participated in the following online activities: Clicked on a pop-up ad? Opened an email from someone you didn’t know? Signed up for a free trial offer? Sold some merchandise in an auction? Sent funds through an Internet [...]
Andy Griffith as Sheriff Andy TaylorMayberry was a small town, loosely based on Mount Airy, N.C., the hometown of actor Andy Griffith, who played the part of Sheriff Andy Taylor. Mayberry was a slow, sleepy town where city slickers came by occasionally and Andy or Deputy Barney Fife or some other innocent person smoked them [...]
Today’s post comes from guest author Roger Moore from Rehm, Bennett & Moore.Surprisingly, many employers and insurance companies actually believe workers’ hurt themselves on purpose or at the very least put themselves in positions where they think an injury is likely. We hear this a lot as a basis for not settling claims for existing [...]
Kim BoboKim Bobo, the Executive Director of Interfaith Worker Justice and the author of "Wage Theft in America," recently spoke at Duke Divinity School and then at N.C. Central University School of Law in Durham, N.C. Ms. Bobo, who was awarded the Pacem in Terris Peace Award in 2012 (other recipients are John F. Kennedy, Mother [...]
North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance Wayne Goodwin Wayne Goodwin, the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance, held the first meeting of the Governor's Misclassification Task Force on September 20, 2012 in Raleigh. Commissioner Goodwin set the tone for the meeting by saying that the purpose of the Task Force was to solve a serious [...]
"Misclassification" is a poorly chosen word to describe fraudulent conduct by employers who misclassify the status of their employees. For example, a roofing company may have 30 roofers doing the actual work but these workers' are classified as "independent contractors" instead of employees. Why would they do that? At the end of the year these [...]