Worker Classification and Healthcare Technology Companies

Worker classification continues to be a major concern for companies in all industries. The Federal Department of Labor (DOL) rules on classifying workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act are in flux and many states are evaluating whether to adopt new more exacting standards. For its part, the new presidential administration has made clear that it envisions creating a different set of standards.

Complicating matters more, different – and sometimes contradictory tests – for employee and contractor status can apply depending on where someone works, or even what legal requirement is at issue. Meanwhile, the healthcare industry saw an explosion of technology solutions focused on facilitating the delivery of healthcare services to patients during the pandemic. Such solutions capitalize, in part, on an available workforce that is seeking new opportunities to replace or supplement existing work status. The incorporation of this workforce into traditional or novel healthcare technology solutions implicates the worker classification issues addressed in the final rule.

Our program will review both traditional and novel healthcare technology models and the workforce utilized to support them. We will evaluate common worker classification pitfalls in connection with such models and provide an overview of best practices for implementing compliant workforce infrastructures for healthcare technology companies.