Court of Appeals Upholds $9.3 Million Award for Nurses Misclassified as Independent Contractors by Healthcare Staffing Agency
Companies often must determine whether to treat workers as employees or independent contractors. Workers who are properly classified as independent contractors are not subject to wage and hour laws requiring overtime pay or tax withholding, among other differences between the classifications . The rules governing how to classify workers under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”) frequently change, making this a challenging inquiry for many companies. Relevant to this issue, last month, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit upheld a $9.3 million verdict against Steadfast Medical Staffing, a healthcare staffing agency who had misclassified approximately 1100 nurses as independent contractors instead of employees under the FLSA. The case, Chavez-Deremer v. Med. Staffing of Am., LLC , No. 23-2176 (4th Cir. July 17, 2025), serves as a reminder to companies—especially staffing agencies—to review relationships with their independent contractor...