New York Enacts Construction Worker Misclassification Law

On August 27, New York Governor David A. Paterson signed into law the New York State Construction Industry Fair Play Act (the Act), designed to curtail worker misclassifications in the construction industry. The Act resulted from findings that nearly one in four construction workers in New York are misclassified as independent contractors or are paid "off the books." The Act, which goes into effect on October 26, 2010, amends the New York Labor Law, the New York Unemployment Insurance Law, and the New York Workers' Compensation Law by creating a rebuttable presumption that all construction workers are employees under those laws. The Act also imposes notice requirements and subjects contractors to civil and criminal penalties for willful misclassification of workers.