Groups lining up to stop employment practices they say are abusive to workers

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.postgazette.com/pg/10129/1056506-407.stm?cmpid=newspanel4

Sunday, May 09, 2010
By Ann Belser, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette



They are janitors, laborers, delivery drivers, writers, computer programmers. All are employed by companies -- many wearing company uniforms, working on company computers in company offices performing the work that the company sells -- but technically they are working for themselves as independent contractors, freelancers, consultants or contract workers.

State and federal governments, unions and even employers who do not classify their workers as independent contractors are trying to stop this practice.

To a worker in need of a job when there are few jobs to be found, the way in which they are classified may not seem to be a big deal.

"If a worker doesn't get laid off, doesn't get hurt and gets paid minimum wage, from the workers perspective it could be 'no harm, no foul'," said Patrick Beaty, the deputy secretary for Unemployment Compensation Programs for the state's Department of Labor and Industry. "But from my perspective, I'm still out $200 million in a trust fund that is insolvent."

Mr. Beaty is referring to the state's Unemployment Compensation fund, which he said is being underfunded because 580,000 workers or approximately 9 percent of the state's workforce are misclassified as independent contractors.

Mr. Beaty said companies that are classifying workers as employees are being hurt by those that aren't when it comes to bidding on jobs.

It's the bidding process that is driving construction companies to classify lower skilled workers as independent contractors when they should be employees, Mr. Beaty said. While construction is an industry full of highly skilled and licensed workers, such as electricians, who may qualify as independent contractors, often subcontractors treat lower skilled workers the same way. Mr. Beaty said construction workers make up 26 percent of all of the workers who are considered misclassified employees by the state.

FULL story at link.