News Coverage

Latest Development: Uber Technologies Inc. faces a nationwide class action alleging the company illegally classifies its drivers as independent contractors and cheats them out of overtime wages and tips.

Potential Impact: The action could compel the courts to clarify whether gig economy companies such as Uber, Lyft, GrubHub, Upwork, Fiverr and Thumbtack can characterize their workers as independent contractors or traditional employees entitled to protections under federal labor laws....

• Claims taxpayer was warned by accountant of illegal conduct
• Appeal puts government at risk of losing first FBAR disclosure circuit court case

The CEO of a pharmaceutical manufacturing company acted recklessly when he failed to disclose a Swiss bank account he owned, and isn’t entitled to a refund on a penalty he paid for his failure, the government said....

The California State Auditor identified almost $40,000 in inappropriate state expenditures as part of its investigative report on improper governmental activities.
The March 2 report, presented pursuant to the California Whistleblower Protection Act, outlines 10 “substantiated allegations” involving state agencies and colleges. The auditor detailed examples of inappropriate expenditures, including misuse of state time and resources, inaccurate attendance records and improper...

• Medicaid underpayment “not unique to California,” plaintiff says
• Molina: Claims lack merit; payments have been made

Molina Healthcare of California Inc. has been hit with a proposed class action by a physician who says he and hundreds or even thousands of other doctors didn’t receive proper compensation for serving Medicaid patients (Figueroa v. Molina Healthcare of Cal., Inc., Cal. Super. Ct., No. BC645344, filed 12/30/16)....

Uber Technologies Inc., fresh off a $100 million settlement with drivers in California and Massachusetts, now faces a nationwide class action that claims the on-demand ride-sharing company illegally classified drivers as independent contractors and denied them overtime wages and tips (Trosper v. Uber Techs. Inc., N.D. Ill., No. 1:16-cv-04842, complaint filed 5/1/16).
The lawsuit, filed in Illinois, listed the company and Uber's chief executive, Travis Kalanick, as defendants and included...