Various federal statutes contain whistleblower provisions that protect employees who raise or report concerns that range from workplace safety, securities laws violation, or false claims submitted to the federal government. Different activities are protected depending on the statute at issue. Generally, retaliation protection kicks in if the employee reports conduct that he or she reasonably
McDonald’s Fries Franchise Workers’ Claims, Lands Whopper of a Ruling for Franchisors
In an important wage-and-hour decision for franchisors, Salazar, et al. v. the McDonald’s Corp., et al., the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that employees of one of the hamburger giant’s California-based franchisees were not jointly employed by McDonald’s Corp. and thus the franchisor, McDonald’s Corp., was not liable to the employees under California
But We Tried to Do It Right! Stand-Alone Misclassification of Independent Contractor May Not Be a Violation
Recently, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) issued another pro-employer decision, resolving an issue at the forefront of employment law, independent contractor classification. In Velox Express, Inc. and Jeannie Edge, the NLRB determined that misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor alone does not violate the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA).
Background
Velox