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 | |
| Type of business | Private Company |
|---|---|
| Available in | English |
| Founded | 2008 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Key people | Mynul Khan CEO |
| Industry |
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| Employees | 200 (2019) [1] |
| URL | www |
| Commercial | Yes |
| Registration | Required |
| Current status | Active |
Field Nation is an online matching service for IT contractors and other freelancers. [2]
The platform was launched in March 2008 by Mynul Khan. Within 2 years Field Nation broke even and by 2014 posted more than $60 million in revenue. [3] [4] [5]
Field Nation acquired Field Solutions in May 2015. [5] [6]
In September 2015, Field Nation raised $30 million dollars in venture capital, led by Susquehanna Growth Equity, a subsidiary of Susquehanna International Group. [7] [8]
Field Nation matches contract IT and other freelancers with corporate clients through an online marketplace that features 100,000 service providers. [2] Businesses use Field Nation's software to manage independent contractors, existing employees, or both.
The Field Nation mobile app provides real-time work order tracking, ability to negotiate counteroffers, access to payment history, signature capture, and uploading of documents. [9]
Field Nation was ranked for two consecutive years in the Inc. 500, a list of the fastest growing companies in America. It was ranked 43rd in the United States in 2013 and 445th in 2014. The company was also ranked 4th fastest growing company in Minnesota in 2014. [10]
Field Nation was recognized by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal as one of 2013's Fast 50 companies and was ranked Minnesota's 2nd fastest growing private company. [11] [12]
CEO Mynul Khan was named 1 of 10 Minnesota business leaders to watch in 2015 by the Star Tribune. [13]
Field Nation received the 2015 Tekne award for IT services awarded by the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA). [14]
The company was named to Star Tribune's 2017 list of top places to work. [15]
The platform has faced controversies related to labor law violations and issues relating to unlicensed contracting. The core issue involves both the classification of workers and the compliance of Field Nation’s practices with labor laws. Critics contend that Field Nation might misclassify workers as independent contractors instead of employees, potentially leading to the denial of benefits and protections. Additionally, concerns are raised about unlicensed contractors working through the platform, which could further complicate legal compliance and the quality of work.
A notable legal case highlighting these concerns is Johnson v. Field Nation. [16] In this case, workers in California alleged that Field Nation's practices violated labor laws by improperly classifying them as independent contractors. The case examined whether these workers should be considered employees with associated rights and protections under labor laws.
The outcome of this class action case was that the court ruled in favor of the plaintiffs, finding that Field Nation had indeed misclassified workers as independent contractors. This decision highlighted that these workers were, in fact, employees entitled to the rights and protections under labor laws. The ruling underscored the need for clearer standards and fair treatment of gig economy workers. This case set a precedent for how similar platforms might need to adjust their practices to comply with labor laws.
Hormel Foods Corporation, doing business as Hormel Foods or simply Hormel, is an American multinational food processing company founded in 1891 in Austin, Minnesota, by George A. Hormel as George A. Hormel & Company. The company originally focused on the packaging and selling of ham, sausage and other pork, chicken, beef and lamb products to consumers, adding Spam in 1937. By the 1980s, Hormel began offering a wider range of packaged and refrigerated foods. The company changed its name to Hormel Foods Corporation in 1993 and uses the Hormel brand on many of its products; the company's other brands include Planters, Columbus Craft Meats, Dinty Moore, Jennie-O, and Skippy. The company's products are available in over 80 countries worldwide.
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any other entity, pays the other, the employee, in return for carrying out assigned work. Employees work in return for wages, which can be paid on the basis of an hourly rate, by piecework or an annual salary, depending on the type of work an employee does, the prevailing conditions of the sector and the bargaining power between the parties. Employees in some sectors may receive gratuities, bonus payments or stock options. In some types of employment, employees may receive benefits in addition to payment. Benefits may include health insurance, housing, and disability insurance. Employment is typically governed by employment laws, organisation or legal contracts.
Freelance, freelancer, or freelance worker, are terms commonly used for a person who is self-employed and not necessarily committed to a particular employer long-term. Freelance workers are sometimes represented by a company or a temporary agency that resells freelance labor to clients; others work independently or use professional associations or websites to get work.
An independent contractor is a person, business, or corporation that provides goods or services under a written contract or a verbal agreement. Unlike employees, independent contractors do not work regularly for an employer but work as required, when they may be subject to law of agency. Independent contractors are usually paid on a freelance basis. Contractors often work through a limited company or franchise, which they themselves own, or may work through an umbrella company.
Equal pay for equal work is the concept of labour rights that individuals in the same workplace be given equal pay. It is most commonly used in the context of sexual discrimination, in relation to the gender pay gap. Equal pay relates to the full range of payments and benefits, including basic pay, non-salary payments, bonuses and allowances. Some countries have moved faster than others in addressing equal pay.
Permatemp is a U.S. term for a temporary employee who works for an extended period for a single staffing client. The word is a portmanteau of the words permanent and temporary.
Misclassification of employees as independent contractors is the way in which the United States and other countries classify the problem of false self-employment. In the U.S., it can occur with respect to tax treatment or the Fair Labor Standards Act.
Life Time, Inc. is a chain of health clubs in the United States and Canada.
The Surly Brewing Company is an American craft brewery with facilities in Minneapolis and Brooklyn Center, Minnesota, and is noted for primarily canning beers, rather than bottling. Initially available only in and around the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the company expanded distribution to include all of Minnesota and at least 12 states and several international markets. During the early 2010s, Surly experienced rapid growth, with production of 21,000 barrels in 2012, 28,000 barrels in 2013, and 47,757 barrels in 2015. Surly's brewing system in Brooklyn Center is a 30 beer barrel (BBL) Sprinkman, one of four identical systems produced by Sprinkman of Wisconsin. The Minneapolis location has a 100 barrel system. Despite sharing a similar name and being headquartered in the U.S. state of Minnesota, the brewing company and Surly Bikes are separate enterprises. An agreement between the two companies allows the bicycle manufacturer to display the single word "Surly" on its products.
LME, Inc. was a less than truckload (LTL) carrier located in Minnesota which served ten states in the Midwestern US. LME, Inc. was founded in the early 2010s as a successor to Lakeville Motor Express to take over Lakeville's non-union regional freight business when its owners split this segment from their unionized business The unionized business remained with Lakeville which became a cartage agent for LME.
Wage theft is the failing to pay wages or provide employee benefits owed to an employee by contract or law. It can be conducted by employers in various ways, among them failing to pay overtime; violating minimum-wage laws; the misclassification of employees as independent contractors; illegal deductions in pay; forcing employees to work "off the clock", not paying annual leave or holiday entitlements, or simply not paying an employee at all.
Grubhub Inc. is an American online and mobile prepared food ordering and delivery platform based in Chicago, Illinois.
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Gig workers are independent contractors, online platform workers, contract firm workers, on-call workers, and temporary workers. Gig workers enter into formal agreements with on-demand companies to provide services to the company's clients.
Shannon Liss-Riordan is an American labor attorney. She is best known for her class-action cases against companies such as Uber, FedEx, and Starbucks. Liss-Riordan was a candidate in the 2020 United States Senate election in Massachusetts, unsuccessfully challenging incumbent Ed Markey for his senate seat.
California Assembly Bill 5 or AB 5 is a state statute that expands a landmark Supreme Court of California case from 2018, Dynamex Operations West, Inc. v. Superior Court ("Dynamex"). In that case, the court held that most wage-earning workers are employees and ought to be classified as such, and that the burden of proof for classifying individuals as independent contractors belongs to the hiring entity. AB 5 extends that decision to all workers. It entitles them to be classified as employees with the usual labor protections, such as minimum wage laws, sick leave, and unemployment and workers' compensation benefits, which do not apply to independent contractors. Concerns over employee misclassification, especially in the gig economy, drove support for the bill, but it remains divisive.
Dynamex Operations W. v. Superior Court and Charles Lee, Real Party in Interest, 4 Cal.5th 903 was a landmark case handed down by the California Supreme Court on April 30, 2018. A class of drivers for a same-day delivery company, Dynamex, claimed that they were misclassified as independent contractors and thus unlawfully deprived of employment protections under California’s wage orders. Their claims raised the question of what the appropriate standard was to determine whether workers should be classified as employees or as independent contractors under California’s wage orders.
Proposition 22 was a ballot initiative in California that became law after the November 2020 state election, passing with 59% of the vote and granting app-based transportation and delivery companies an exception to Assembly Bill 5 by classifying their drivers as "independent contractors", rather than "employees". The law exempts employers from providing the full suite of mandated employee benefits while instead giving drivers new protections:
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