Shift in NLRB position on independent contractor/employee issue.

[Mark Rogers]

On Friday, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) overruled one of its own decisions from 2014 to make it easier for a company to establish that a worker should be treated as an independent contractor instead of as an employee. The current board was fairly critical of the 2014 board, accusing it of fundamentally shifting the analysis for political reasons.  The SuperShuttle DFW case on Friday restored the importance of "entrepreneurial opportunity" as an important principle against which to apply the usual common law factors.  "[C]ommon-law factors that support a worker’s entrepreneurial opportunity indicate independent contractor status; factors that support employer control indicate employee status."   This return to the previous standard is very welcome news for companies who want to use independent contractors.  Link to NLRB Press Release