Companies Claim Victory In First-Ever Gig Economy Trial

In what is believed to be the first time in our nation’s history that a trial court has reached a judicial merits determination in a gig economy misclassification case, a federal judge in California ruled in favor of the company this afternoon and found that a delivery driver was properly classified as an independent contractor. By rejecting the driver’s claim that he was actually an employee deserving of minimum wage, overtime, and other benefits associated with employee status, the court handed gig economy companies everywhere a groundbreaking victory. 

What do all gig economy companies (and other businesses using a freelance or independent contractor model) need to know about today’s historic ruling in the Lawson v. Grubhub trial? We have posted a legal alert on our main website including three key takeaways from the ruling. Read all about it here. 

Tomorrow we will post a checklist of items that gig economy companies should keep in mind when formulating and operating their businesses in order to comply with the standards established by this ruling. Check back on Friday for that post.