Appellate court overturns Labor Dept. ruling for Nation freelancer
The venerable progressive magazine The Nation won a decision from the Appellate Division, Third Department, which found that it did not have to provide unemployment insurance contributions on payments made to author and journalist Greg Mitchell.
The court’s decision, released Thursday, overturns a state Labor Department ruling that said the magazine was on the hook for the contributions.
In February 2010, Mitchell signed a contract to produce a blog on media issues for The Nation for the sum of $46,800, which was paid in monthly installments. After his contract was not renewed in 2014, he applied for unemployment benefits. The Nation lost all of its previous appeals of the ruling.
The Appellate Division noted that while the courts are usually loathe to overturn such rulings, “the Board’s decision here is not supported by substantial evidence in the record as a whole” — especially regarding the question of staff at The Nation maintained significant command and control over Mitchell’s output.
Read more: http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/270627/appellate-court-overturns-labor-dept-ruling-for-nation-freelancer/