By Kris Hudson | The Wall Street Journal
Home builders and other employers that rely heavily on independent contractors have asked Congress to stop the Labor Department from awarding grants that are used to investigate suspected misclassification of workers as contractors rather than employees.
In recent years, the Labor Department has become more aggressive in its efforts to ensure that companies accurately classify workers and is specifically targeting “sectors where we know workers are vulnerable and violations are rampant,” said a Labor Department spokesman. Officials have said that worker misclassification allows offending companies to avoid paying certain taxes, undermines compliant employers and deprives workers of overtime pay, unemployment insurance and other benefits.
