7th Circuit Holds That Cosmetology Students Are Not Employees Under The FLSA

The Seventh Circuit Court recently held that cosmetology students are not employees. In Hollins v. Regency Corp., ___ F.3d ___, No. 15-3607, 2017 WL 3474266 (7th Cir. Aug. 14, 2017), Chief Judge Diane Wood wrote the opinion of a unanimous panel of the Seventh Circuit affirming the grant of summary judgment against former cosmetology students who alleged they were employees of their cosmetology schools when they 1) were practicing skills on paying members of the public and 2) were performing “menial tasks,” such as sanitation, greeting guests and selling products. The Court applied the economic realities test. The lower court ruled against the students.

Interesting Article on the "Gig Economy"

As the title implies,  Lazar,  The Gig Economy: A Threat to Basic Employment Rights, NYLJ (May 1, 2017) (registration required), is an interesting article about the "gig economy." The gig economy is defined by the author as a "work model in which individuals provide services, supposedly at their own direction, for corporations and small businesses which serve as online marketplaces that connect these service providers with clientele." The classic example is Uber. 

Traditional employment law only protects employees and there is significant litigation addressing whether such individuals are employees or independent contractors. But, even non-employees need workplace protections. As the article states:

Worker advocates are in a precarious position wherein they not only are protecting workers from misclassification and the evasion of employer's obligations, they must also protect existing jobs from being replaced by outsourcing or robots. Having jobs is critical, and in fact this sentiment has prevented many Americans from enforcing their rights and calling upon their legislators to pass stricter laws in the workplace. However, that is the same mentality that caused the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911, the deadliest industrial disaster in U.S. history, which killed 146 workers, mostly women and children. These horrendous working conditions were allowed to flourish in New York factories because of the desperate need for the unemployed and disenfranchised to earn a dollar, irrespective of their safety and workplace rights.
This and other workplace tragedies ushered in reforms that tempered the unbounding desire for growth by the companies of the Industrial Revolution with the need to protect their workers. The gig economy's recent boom requires us to revisit the same questions. . .

Major Law Firm Subject to Sex Discrimination Suit

The New York Law Journal recently reported that a partner at a major law firm suit her firm for discrimination, here. A copy of the complaint, which was filed in the District of Columbia, is available here.
I bring this case to your attention because it presents an interesting legal issue of whether a partner can bring a claim under employment discrimination and other statutes designed to protect "employees". Though not stated in the article, that is likely an issue that is going to be raised.
I wrote a law review article on a similar topic a few years ago. You can download a copy of my article by clicking here.