Class Action Over Illinois Commercial Drivers: Employees or Independent Contractors

 It's being reported that a lawsuit against an Illinois trucking firm, Risinger Brothers Transfer, Inc. has been granted class action status. The drivers allege that, although the company has treated them as independent contractors, the drivers in fact were employees, based on how the employer managed operations and supervised the drivers.

The U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois has ruled that the case could be approved as a class action.

Now, the issue of whether drivers of such companies are actually employees or independent contractors has been one I've dealt with in some past cases. And this certification by the court does not constitute a determination by the court one way or another on this issue. It merely certifies that the drivers have met the criteria for class certification.

Now the real work begins.

This issue touches on Workers Compensation insurance, of course, as an employer can require independent contractors to purchase their own Workers Comp insurance, but not so for employees. This lawsuit is over more than the Workers Comp issue, but I expect that Workers Compensation costs will be a significant part of the case.

So stay tuned.

General Liability Audits

 Increasingly, we are hearing from employers who want us to double-check their General Liability audits. We've also been retained a fair bit in recent years as expert witnesses in litigation over General Liability insurance. 

Just like Workers Compensation insurance, General Liability insurance is subject to a premium audit after the policy ends. And employers sometimes have issues with how those audit premiums have been calculated. And more and more, those employers find us and give us a call or email.

It is certainly possible to successfully dispute a General Liability audit. But it can be trickier than disputing an audit for Workers Compensation insurance.

For one thing, General Liability is less standardized than Workers Compensation insurance. And GL can be written through the Excess & Surplus market, which means there is even less regulatory oversight from state insurance regulators. And there is no administrative dispute process the way there is through the NCCI, which is the rating bureau for Workers Compensation insurance in a majority of states.

But if anything, it sometimes appears that insurers might be even more opaque, less informative, with explaining how GL audit premiums have been computed than they are for Workers Comp. Still, we love a challenge.