Senators Introduce Bill Targeting Independent Contractor Misclassification; DOL Forges Ahead with Classification Survey

During Tuesday’s Senate Subcommittee hearing – Payroll Fraud: Targeting Bad Actors Hurting Workers and Businesses – Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA) announced that he, along with Senators Tom Harkin (IA) and Sherrod Brown (D-OH), had that day introduced the Payroll Fraud Protection Act of 2013 (S. 1687), a bill that would “hold employers accountable” for independent contractor misclassification. This hearing occurred just days after the Department of Labor (DOL) sent its proposed Worker Classification Survey to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval. The proposed survey will likely provide the groundwork for the future “right-to-know” rule that would amend an employer’s recordkeeping requirements under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to provide employees with greater information about their employment status.