US Congress bill focuses on “workers’ misclassification”
The Payroll Fraud Prevention Act of 2015, which seeks to amends the Fair Labor Standards Act with a requirement that “employers accurately classify their workers and provide employees with notice of their classification”, has been introduced in the US House of Representatives. The bill was introduced by Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson on 23 July and was co-sponsored by New Jersey Representative Donald M. Payne Jr. last Wednesday (29 July).
According to Congressman Payne: “It has been estimated that up to 40% of New Jersey employers have misclassified their workers. These workers are denied employment law protections, public benefits programs, and fair compensation. For example, the estimated median annual wage for misclassified port truck drivers in New Jersey and New York is just $28,000—which comes out to under 10 dollars an hour.”
Payne added: “The dishonest practice by companies of intentionally classifying their workers as independent contractors, as opposed to employees, contributes to the divide between hardworking Americans struggling to pay the bills and corporations making record profits.”
As previously reported, misclassification – or alleged misclassification – has been a major issue in the transport industry.
Traditional operators like FedEx have become involved in lengthy, and costly, legal disputes while “crowdsourced” startups like Uber have also found themselves taken to court over the issue.
Click here to view the full text of Payroll Fraud Prevention Act of 2015.
