U.S. CONGRESS
Senate Hearing on "Employee Misclassification Prevention Act"
Common form of payroll fraud not covered by any present labor law; S-3254 would amend Fair Labor Standards Act with record-keeping and notice requirements and civil penalties for employer violations.
-- See USDOL and NYS DOL testimony under "Studies" tab.

NEW YORK
Payroll Fraud Sweep Nets 12 of 21 Contractors on Single Project
A NYS DOL Joint Enforcement Task Force sweep of "The Province," a 14-building dorm complex at Rochester Institute of Technology, cited 12 of 21 contractors for misclassification, workers comp, overtime, and cash-pay violations.  Several stop-work orders were issued, and initial charges involved more than $210,000 in fines, unpaid taxes and insurance, and back wages.

NEW YORK CITY
Contractor Guilty of Hiding Millions in Income via Cash Payments, Workers Comp Fraud
Plea bargain in four-year scheme nets $729,000 repayment in personal income, corporate, withholding, and unemployment insurance taxes, as well as underpaid insurance premiums owed to the State Insurance Fund.

NEBRASKA
New Law Creates Presumption of Employee Status in Construction & Delivery
Governor Dale Heineman (R) signed an anti-misclassification law with rising per-employee fines and a presumption that all workers in construction and delivery services are employees. The bill passed the state legislature 43-1. (WorkCompCentral.com)

CALIFORNIA
AG Wins Back Pay, Payroll Fraud Protections From Employer of 200 Drywallers
Charles Elveth Construction settled after Attorney General Edmund Brown's investigation found more than 1,200 violations of California wage-and-hour, tax, insurance, and other laws.

MAINE
Law Presumes Employee Status with 12-point Test; Sets Stop-Work Orders for Fraud
State crackdown on employer payroll fraud gains clarity, enforcement teeth.

NEW YORK TIMES, PAGE A1
"U.S. Cracks Down on Contractors as Tax Dodge"
Click to read this page-one story by Stephen Greenhouse from NYTimes.com

U.S. DEPT. OF LABOR
New Online Database Tracks Wage & Hour, Other Completed Cases
Research this growing compilation of employer fraud and safety violations.

NATIONAL MEDIA
"Parade" Magazine Covers Tax, Job Losses from Misclassification

U.S. SENATE
"Taxpayer Responsibility, Accountability, and Consistency Act of 2009

U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
GAO Study Says 'Misclassification is a Problem'
Annual Losses of More Than $1.6 Billion; DOL, IRS, OSHA Agree With Calls for Increased Cooperation and Enforcement
[UBC Summary with link to full text]

WASHINGTON, D.C.
U.S. Treasury Dept. IG Study Cites Billions in Taxes Lost to Misclassification; Calls for IRS-Wide Coordination Unit and
Full Research on Current Costs
[Summary with link to full text]

MASSACHUSETTS
$1.6 Million Collected in Taxes, Insurance, Fines, and Restitution, Says Annual Report of Joint Task Force on the
Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification

OREGON
Governor Enacts Misclassification Task Force (WorkCompCentral.com)

NEBRASKA
New Laws Against Misclassification, Worker Comp Fraud (WorkCompCentral.com)

WASHINGTON
Contractor Pleads Guilty to Felony Theft of Sales Tax, Workers Comp Fraud; Must Pay $2.1 million in Restitution;
Faces Sentence of up to 9-1/2 Years

NEW YORK
Park Avenue Accountant Guilty in Workers Comp Scheme

DELAWARE
Landmark Workforce Fraud Act Signed; Sponsor Cites Payroll Fraud, Says "bill will level the playing field for construction businesses."

CALIFORNIA
Contractor Gets 1-year Term for Tax Evasion to Avoid Workers Comp Payments

LOUISIANA
Louisiana Workforce Commission Announces Arrest for Alleged Certificate Fraud; Third Arrest in Two-Day Crackdown by Insurance Task Force (WorkCompCentral.com)

MARYLAND
Gov. O'Malley Orders Joint Enforcement Task Force on Workplace Fraud; Executive Order Puts All Key Agencies in Hunt for Violations of New Statute

NEW JERSEY
Labor Agency Will Use Wage-and-Hour Team, Stop-Work Authority in Crackdown on Workers Comp, Misclassification Violators (WorkCompCentral.com)

NEW HAMPSHIRE
New Law Says Contractors on State College Work Must Disclose and Post Names of and Workers Comp Carriers for all Sub- and Independent Contractors.