The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) is focusing “an enormous amount of attention” on misclassifying workers as exempt, non-exempt, and independent contractors and is throwing significant resources at the problem, according to attorney Susan G. Fentin, who spoke at the recent Advanced Employment Issues Symposium in Nashville, Tennessee.
Plus, the DOL and the IRS are teaming up to share data in an effort to find classification errors, says Fentin. But a new IRS program allows qualifying employers a break on the tax liability for past mistakes. Another issue to watch, though: being on the hook for health insurance benefits for workers misclassified as contractors.
Watch Fentin’s interview at AEIS
Fentin is an editor of Massachusetts Employment Law Letter and a partner in the Springfield office of Skoler, Abbott & Presser, P.C.