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What is the difference between an Independent Contractor and an Employee?
The US Department of Labor has stated that the misclassification of employees as independent contractors is a primary enforcement initiative. In fact, the Secretary of the Labor Department, Thomas Perez, has referred to misclassification of workers as a “workplace fraud” and a practice that cheats the state out of revenue and deprives workers of basic rights including protection under employment discrimination statutes. As evidence of the government’s interest in stopping this practice, the federal agency’s budget in investigating misclassification cases is for FY 2016 is $14 million dollars and it has been working with many states as part of a joint task force. New York is part of the joint task force. The federal agency has recovered over 200 million dollars in 2014.
Employers and businesses in New York State should carefully evaluated their workforces to determine if they have properly classified their workers properly before an audit, investigation or lawsuit is commenced. Our NY Independent Contractor Misclassification Lawyer can assist you in your evaluation.
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