"Are Independent Contractors on Life Support?"

Robert A. Boonin, Detroit and Ann Arbor–based member in Dykema’s Labor & Employment Practice Group and former chair of the Wage and Hour Defense Institute, has authored “Are Independent Contractors on Life Support?” for the State Bar of Michigan L&E section publication, Labor and Employment LawNotes.

In his incisive essay, Boonin discusses a July 2015 Department of Labor’s “Administrator’s Interpretation” delineating the requirements for Independent Contractor status, which was issued without preliminary input from employers at large. The restrictive guidelines therein, and the fact that the DOL cites only case law that supports its own standards, leads Boonin to suspect the agency is thinking more of increased tax revenues than of the practicalities of today’s workforce. The article concludes with recommendations to employers who use the services of Independent Contractors.

The full article may be read here.