Gig Economy Lawyers

In recent years, Audet & Partners, LLP has amassed particular expertise representing workers with new “Gig Economy” companies  and the ins and outs of Gig law.  If you are a Gig Economy worker, the basic legal issue under the California Gig worker law involves whether your employer has properly (and legally) classified you as an independent contractor.  This classification has significant implications for your earnings.  Independent contractors are denied many of the legal protections and benefits provided to “employees.”

As experienced Gig Economy lawyers, we can provide a free, confidential consultation and advise whether you may have been improperly classified as an “independent contractor.”  If so, we may be able to assist you, for example, in recovering financial reimbursement for many of the work-related expenses you have been forced to pay out-of-pocket.

IIf you are or have been deemed an “independent contractor” with a  “Gig Economy” company and are interested in learning about your potential legal rights to specific benefits as an employer, you are urged to complete and submit our online questionnaire below as soon as possible. Schedule a consultation to receive legal advice regarding the current California Gig worker law and how this legislation impacts you.

California Supreme Court Rules in Favor of Independent Contractors

In an Opinion issued April 30, 2018, the Supreme Court held that California courts may apply a test developed by the Industrial Welfare Commission when determining whether a worker has been properly classified as an employee or an independent contractor.  This “ABC” test is considered very favorable to potentially hundreds of thousands of gig economy workers who have been classified as “independent contractors.”

Under the “ABC” standard, a worker may only be properly considered an independent contractor if the “hiring entity” (i.e., employer) establishes the following:

A.

The worker is free from the control and direction of the hirer in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of such work and in fact;

B.

The worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and

C.

The worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed for the hiring entity.

Our highly experienced gig economy lawyers can quickly assess your particular situation to determine whether you have been improperly classified as an independent contractor according to the California Gig worker law.  If so, you may be entitled to recover significant reimbursement as well as benefits provided to employees.  For a free, confidential case evaluation, please complete and submit the form on the right side of this page.

Wag Dog Walkers Ask Judge to Approve Wage Settlement

Click on the Image Above to View the Complaint in the Wag Dog Walker Class Action Lawsuit

On September 28, 2018, a class of approximately 38,000 dog walkers for Wag Labs Inc. asked a California federal judge to approve a $1 million settlement that would net each individual dog walker approximately $17.00.  Pleadings filed by attorneys for the dog walkers suggested that the $17.00 was approximately 3% of the average pay received by the dog walkers.  Because many of the dog walkers had signed a mandatory arbitration agreement, this $17 recovery may represent the only compensation realized by many class members.

As with most claims pursued by Gig Economy workers, the plaintiffs in the Wag class action had alleged that the company misclassified them as independent contractors instead of employees, thus denying workers specific wages and benefits they may have received had they been classified as employees.

Join a class action. Call us: 800.965.1461