The U.S. Supreme Court left intact a landmark federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal ruling that has forced many employers to reassess how they deal with temporary workers. The federal court had ruled that Microsoft improperly treated as many as 10,000 temporary employees as independent contractors and illegally denied them the option of participating in an employee stock purchase plan. Now attorneys can begin to calculate how much money the workers are owed—and the sums could be astronomical, given that the stock price has risen almost 2,400% since the lawsuit was filed.
Here is some other late-breaking Supreme Court news:
- ADA and health insurance.
The high court refused to review a federal court of appeal decision, which said Mutual of Omaha did not violate the Americans with Disabilities Act by providing policy holders with different levels of coverage, for example, only $25,000 of benefits for AIDS-related illnesses, but up to $1 million for other health conditions. - Independent contractors.
A recent federal Court of Appeal ruling gave the OK to an independent contractor to sue its client for creating a racially hostile work environment. The Supreme Court let the decision stand. - Public employee suits.
In an important decision for public employers, the court ruled that state employees can’t sue for age discrimination under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act. However, workers can still sue under state age discrimination laws. Last year, the court issued a similar ruling in a case involving the federal Fair Labor and Standards Act.