Action Item: On July 15, 2015, the U.S. Department of
Labor ("DOL") issued guidance warning
against misclassification of employees as "independent
contractors," enumerating the many evils of such
misclassification, and emphasizing that the Fair Labor Standards
Act ("FLSA") has an expansive definition of what it means
to "employ" someone. The fact that this interpretation
comes just two weeks after the DOL unveiled a proposed rule to
expand the number of workers entitled to minimum wage and overtime
pay (which you can read more about
here) cannot be ignored. There is no
mistaking the DOL's vigor for the misclassification
issue—described as a nationwide epidemic.
Why worry about misclassification? According to the DOL,
misclassification inflicts widespread harm on workers, on companies
not engaged in the practice, and to the government. For example,
misclassified workers are denied critical benefits (i.e., minimum
wage and overtime pay, workers' compensation, and
