Wednesday, September 29, 2010

All's Fair, Free or Equal in. . .

the title of just about every piece of legislation dealing with employment right now. The latest to be added to this roll call is the Fair Playing Field Act of 2010. This would remove safe harbor provisions currently available to employers who have unintentionally misclassified employees as independent contractors. Additionally, the bill as written would require employers who routinely use independent contractors to supply those contractors with a written statement telling them what employment protection laws do NOT apply to them, as well as informing them of their right to have their independent contractor status reviewed by the Internal Revenue Service.

It's a bill worth watching, along with the Paycheck Fairness Act/Fair Pay Act, the Employee Free Choice Act, and the Workplace Free Sodas So Everyone Has Equal Energy and Can Compete Fairly Act. Okay, so the last one isn't real. . . yet.

Is it a surprise that unions haven't re-emerged like predicted under this administration? If these types of laws keep getting introduced, unions have an argument that the administration which was supposed to breathe life into them is actually drowning them out.

No comments: