Misclassification: Catalina Landing 320 Golden Shore, Suite 410 Long Beach, California (562)

Transcription

1 Misclassification: A Regulator s Perspective; Insight from an Alternate Model (Co-Op); and Independent Third Party Facilitator (Handling admin, settlement and other alleged control functions) Catalina Landing 320 Golden Shore, Suite 410 Long Beach, California (562) Moderator Paul J. Marron Esq. Tuesday, September 22, 2015

2 Introduction Misclassification is the biggest single threat to drayage industry today. The U.S. Department of Labor and the State Labor Commissioner are making concerted efforts to attack the independent contractor model in many industries and most particularly in the transportation and drayage industries. Plaintiff attorneys representing drivers have developed a cottage industry attacking the independent contractor model. New Inexperienced players are taking up cases. Court decisions and rules are becoming more numerous in favor of finding employee status. Today s panel is designed to take a hard look at the present independent contractor models identifying regulatory triggers and exploring alternatives and radical changes to the present IC structure.

3 The Cost of Doing Business? The following chart shows the dollar damages entered in a judgment handed down by a California Superior Court this month that found drivers were misclassified as independent contractors. Judgment Interest Total Driver 1 $76, $40, $117, Driver 2 $336, $143, $479, Driver 3 $375, $160, $535, Driver 4 $168, $90, $259, Driver 5 $378, $161, $540, Driver 6 $310, $146, $456, Driver 7 $317, $139, $456, Total $1,963, $882, $2,846, Average Award $280, $126, $406,613.27

4 Judicial Criticism of the Drayage Industry Used to Support Employee Status Taking Advantage of Unsophisticated Immigrants with Limited Education and English Language Skills; Limiting Use of Leased Vehicles; Requiring Drivers to be On Call; Requiring Drivers to Drive Only for Single Drayage Company; Requiring Drivers to be Courteous to Carrier s Customers; Dictating Where Drivers Park their Leased Vehicles; Not Permitting Registration of Leased Vehicles in Driver s Name.

5 Industry Criticism cont d Disciplining or Penalizing Drivers for failing to: Be available to take loads; Accept loads offered; and Check-in with dispatch regularly. Requiring Drivers to attend meetings or report at designated times; Not providing drivers opportunities for profit and loss; and Requiring Drivers to be identified with a single carrier company.

6 Panelists for Today Victoria Bradshaw, Public Affairs Consultant with California Strategies, Inc., Sacramento, California. William Rouse, General Manager, ASC - Yellow Cab of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California. Brian Widell, President and Co-Founder of Profit Tools, Lee, New Hampshire.

7 Victoria Bradshaw Public Affairs Consultant with California Strategies. Served as Cabinet Secretary and Deputy Chief of Staff to both Governor Pete Wilson and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Served as Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency. Served as California State Labor Commissioner, Director of the EDD. B.A., Political Science, University of California Davis and Masters of Public Administration, Sacramento State University.

8 William Rouse General Manager of ASC Yellow Cab of Los Angeles, Long Beach Yellow Cab, United Checker Cab South Bay Yellow Cab and Fiesta Taxi. Served as President, Taxicab Limousine & Paratransit Association (TLPA). Served as President, Taxicab Paratransit Association of California (TPAC) Former Chair, Long Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau. B.S., Business Administration, University of Southern California and J.D. University of Southern California.

9 Brian Widell President and Co-Founder of Profit Tools, Lee, New Hampshire. Leading provider of software and business services to the intermodal trucking industry throughout the U.S. and Canada. Profit Tools has been providing software products for operations management, mobile applications, customer visibility and analytics as well as business solutions such as fuel card services since Economics degree from Princeton University focusing on math, computer science and economics.

10 Review, Reconsider and Revise Regardless of how you intend to adapt to this new reality, each of us must take steps now to: Review current processes; Reconsider current practices and documents to assess what control elements are truly necessary for your business model; and Revise current conduct and contracts to reflect only necessary processes and always make it clear where regulatory requirements dictate your conduct.

11 This Program is for informational purposes and not intended to be legal advice. The facts and circumstances of your individual situation could significantly affect the outcome of any matter you may have. You should consult competent legal counsel to review your individual circumstances. For copies of this presentation and/or further discussion of the issues discussed today contact Paul Marron, Paul Arenas or Jaime B. Laurent via via telephone: (562) This presentation contains copyrighted material. Reproduction by permission only.