This month we bring you the latest news on employment and payroll law for March 2023. Get caught up on the most recent changes in legislation, as well as updates on cases and law developments that could impact your business.
Seattle Passes Landmark Law to Give Gig Economy Workers Paid Sick Leave & More
Seattle lawmakers have passed a landmark piece of legislation titled ‘Gig Worker Paid Sick and Safe Time Ordinance,’ regarding paid sick leave and “safe time” for workers of companies like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Instacart. This was originally just a temporary ruling resulting from pandemic-related challenges, but it has been made permanent. Starting May 1st, the law will extend coverage to food delivery workers and, come January 13th of 2024, it shall expand its protection to other gig-based companies.
Read the full story on HR Grapevine.
U.S. Department of Labor Recovers $330,000 in Back Wages for Twenty North Carolina Workers
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division has recovered over $330,000 in back wages for 20 workers who were denied overtime pay by a North Carolina general contractor. An investigation found that the contractor misclassified its employees as independent contractors, meaning they were not paid half time rate of pay for overtime hours over 40 in a workweek, which is a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act’s overtime requirements. In addition to failing to pay the correct wages, the employer also failed to maintain accurate and complete records with employees’ Social Security numbers, addresses, rates of pay and total earnings.
Read the DOL’s full News Brief here.
Global EOR GreenLight.ai Hires Aurora Kaiser As Head of Legal
The gig economy and independent workforce are on the rise – and GreenLight is building the infrastructure to help make it easy for companies to navigate this increasingly risky compliance minefield. That’s why we’ve hired ex-Upwork legal executive, Aurora Kaiser, to help shape a growing industry with only increasing regulatory scrutiny. “Misclassification of contractors can have significant legal, financial, tax, reputation, and operational consequences for employers” emphasized Kaiser, “making it critical to properly classify workers according to the applicable laws and regulations.” As Head of Legal, Aurora will help expand GreenLight’s worker classification and global Employer of Record solutions to more efficiently and compliantly meet clients’ needs and get their contingent workers up and running faster.
Read the full story in this article.
