Is there an FLSA problem today? Does the information age impact how someone is classified?
Lorber: Classification of employees, and whether they are employees, has become the hot issue now. Employers have lots of issues as to whether or not people are employees or contractors. We do a lot of audits for companies to figure out whether people are appropriately classified. How people are paid under fluctuating work schedules and whether overtime is applied are only some of the complicating issues, and it gets very contentious. So it has just become a major focus of our employment practice. The Labor Department has announced a major enforcement task force on it. Also, New York State and several others are passing statutes, some including criminal sanctions, if people are misclassified. New York now requires new employees to receive a letter explaining what their classification is when they are hired. It is a very complicated issue, because if you misclassify there may be back pay and back tax obligations, with penalties and interest, and benefits coverage, including healthcare c
