Employee or independent contractor? Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corporation

Article Abstract:

A presumption that workers are governed by the employer-employee relationship rather than the independent contractor relationship was reaffirmed by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corp. The Internal Revenue Service had previously ruled that workers that Microsoft had classified as freelancers or independent contractors should be considered employees for tax purposes. The plaintiffs argued that they should obtain benefits for the period when they were misclassified as independent contractors, and the court upheld the presumption in favor of the employer-employee relationship.

Regulation, Licensing, and Inspection of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors, Labor Regulation & Services, Pension Fund Coverage & Benefits, Interpretation and construction, Pensions, Pension funds, Labor law, Labor policy

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Vizcaino v. Microsoft Corporation; a labor and employment lawyer's perspective

Article Abstract:

Many employers are hiring temporary employees or independent contractors to reduce benefits and salary costs by eliminating the traditional employer-employee relationship. However, Microsoft Corp discovered that classification without significant differences in treatment can result in severe penalities when the IRS reclassified 483,000 workers, allowing the workers to sue for benefits. A $751 million fine was also assessed. Therefore, employers need to avoid making contingent workers into common law employees when attempting to avoid legal responsibilities of employers.

Employee Benefits & Services, Human resource management, Microsoft Corp., MSFT

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Catholic social teaching on work

Article Abstract:

The right to unionize and the right to a "living wage" are the key Catholic Church labor teachings. The right to unionize remains tenuous in many secular regimes even after more than 100 years of Catholic social teaching. Labor law should be cognizant of the moral teachings of the Church, especially regarding the right to unionize and workers' right to receive a living wage.

Social problems, Church and social problems, Roman Catholicism

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