Worker misclassification occurs when employers treat certain employees as independent contractors when they should not be classified as such. This may be done to reduce payroll and other costs.
Incorrectly classifying a worker as an independent contractor causes harm to the worker by withholding rights that belong to legitimate employees.
The U.S. Department of Labor provides information about the Misclassification of Employees as Independent Contractors, and additional resources to help Identify the Differences Between an Employee and a Contractor.
Additionally, under the PA UC Law, a worker performing services for payment is presumed to be an employee, unless the employer shows that 1) The individual has been and will continue to be free from control or direction over the performance of the services involved, both under their contract of service and in fact, and 2) as to these services, the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business.
The Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (Act 72), in addition to meeting the two criteria above, requires that the worker have a written contract to perform such services in order to be an independent contractor.
If you feel you, or someone you know, may be misclassified or know of a business that may have misclassified workers, please take a few moments to submit the Worker Misclassification Inquiry form or call 866-403-6163 (option 1).