1099 Risk Blog

New Hampshire Added To List of States Cracking Down on Contractor Misclassification

New Hampshire can now be added to the list of states (including CA, NY, and MA), putting together special task force initiatives to crack down on improper contractor classification.

As reported in today's Nashua Telegraph:

"Labor Commissioner George Copadis said Wednesday his department has received enough complaints about the practice that it is has teamed up with four other state agencies, including the attorney general’s office and the Department of Revenue, to look in to how big the problem really is.

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Rep. McDermott introduces new worker classification legislation

Turning up the heat:

Proper classification of contractors and employees continues to hit the headlines on a regular basis, and the latest news is the release of yet another legislative effort to eliminate worker misclassification and help state and federal tax agencies recover more revenues without raising taxes. Representatives McDermott, Tierney, and Neal introduced The Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability, and Consistency Act in session yesterday. Adding fuel to the fire, the labor Unions have issued a variety of press releases today praising the measure. The Unions argue that misclassification as contractors prevents workers from being able to join and therefore infringes on their right to organize.

Granted that this is an election year and a variety of powerful lobbies (and not just the unions) are interested in passing this kind of legislation, interest and pressure in the topic of worker classification will only increase in the coming months.

We'll be adding this bill to our Legislation Tracker page as soon as it becomes available on GovTrack, so stay tuned to these pages!

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MA Governor Cracks Down on Misclassification

One by one, the states are turning up the heat on independent contractor classification. On March 12, 2008, Mass. Governor Deval Patrick signed Executive Order 499 creating a joint task force to identify and crack down on illegal misclassification of workers as independent contractors.

"Through joint efforts, the Task Force is charged with combating the underground economy and employee misclassification, including efforts to: (a) foster compliance with the law by educating business owners and employees about applicable requirements; (b) conduct joint, targeted investigations and enforcement actions against violators; (c) protect the health, safety and benefit rights of workers; and (d) restore competitive equality for law-abiding businesses."

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