The Seventh Circuit certified the question as to the employment status of plaintiffs under the KWPA to Kansas Supreme Court, which found that the plaintiffs were indeed employees as matter of law. Thus, the Seventh Circuit reversed, as Kansas Supreme Court's response to certified question should be regarded as authoritative and binding statement of state law.
Misclassification of employees as independent contractors has been a growing trend in the workplace. However, the Courts and Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division have been actively correcting these issues. In fact, the DOL issued a new interpretive guidance on independent contractors on July 15, 2015, Administrator’s Interpretation No. 2015-1. See our blog entry here.