Martucci Quoted in Corporate Counsel on DOL Announcement on Independent Contractor Misclassification

Shook, Hardy & Bacon’s National Employment Litigation & Policy leader Bill Martucci discusses the importance of appropriate worker classification and audits in a September 1 Corporate Counsel article, “DOL, NC to Crack Down on Employers Who Misclassify Workers as Contractors.”

The U.S. Department of Labor announced its plan on August 31 to cooperate with North Carolina authorities to identify employers that improperly categorize employees as independent contractors. North Carolina is the 33^rd state to partner with the DOL to correct worker misclassifications as defined by the Fair Labor Standards Act.

In light of this development, Martucci advises that companies should carefully analyze how they categorize workers and consider conducting audits to ensure proper classification.

Martucci says, "Unfortunately, for some employers, there's such a dependence on … services [provided by third parties] that there's a tendency to either fail to appreciate the distinction between independent and employee status or simply not make it a priority."