AMERICAN SWEATSHOP: A Utah Group Is Teaching Companies How to Misclassify Employees

[xchrom]

http://wepartypatriots.com/wp/2012/01/03/utah-group-teaching-companies-how-to-misclassify-employees/




Worker misclassification is not a small or regional problem. It is a national epidemic wherein workers are incorrectly labeled as independent contractors so that companies can avoid paying them overtime or giving them proper benefits. Misclassification was recently exposed in Utah by KSL 5 News, which took a look into how Utah companies were cheating construction workers out of their fair wages:

Thousands of Utah construction workers are employed in dozens of large projects not as traditional laborers, but as “owners” under a workforce re-classification process that critics say could allow employers to avoid paying benefits, payroll taxes and workers compensation insurance, according to an investigation by KSL Television.

The Utah Attorney General’s Office and the Utah Labor Commission told KSL they are each looking into the practice, which contractors say has allowed such companies to under-bid competitors on construction projects by as much as 50 percent. The companies who pursue the practice say it is legal under Utah’s limited liability laws, and isn’t designed to shirk any tax or payroll obligations.

But the dozens of construction firms who feel their businesses have been hurt by the practice are not shy in speaking out.

[knowbody0]

1. on the other hand,

as an independent contractor, I am able to work at MY pace, there is an incentive to be productive for MY benefit, and the quality of MY work absolutely determines future contracts. it's a win win. I pay my own taxes, find health insurance to fit my needs. compare this to the hourly worker, often underpaid mostly because of the cost of employing him and often because of the lethargic work ethic.

It's a new concept in this new age, bound to catch on. I see it as a positive move creating small businesses.

necessity is the mother of invention, right?

[wobblie]

2. not new at all

Misclassification is utilized by companies such as Fed Ex to pretend its delivery drivers are independent contractors. No workers comp. liability, no unemployment insurance taxes (both SUTA and FUTA), no benefits or long term commitments to the contract worker. They can under cut such companies as UPS or the USPS because of these "employment" practices.

One of the things organized labor accomplishes is that it can force employers to recognize its workers are employees, and the company has obligations and responsibilities towards the workers as employees. One of the reasons for the success of the port shut downs in Oakland is the support of the truck drivers who are treated as IC by the shipping companies.

Before the United Mine Workers, coal miners were considered IC. They were paid by the tonne of coal they mined. The miner bore all the cost associated with mining the coal,(tools, explosives, and they could buy/rent a mule to haul the coal to the surface, do it them selves or have their wife do the the hauling--made no difference to the coal companies.)

IC status is almost always used by employers to shield them selves from the consequences of being an employer while maximizing their profits at the expense of the worker.

[knowbody0]

6. I sincerely get that.

but for my family, this has been a very positive way out of an abyss.

[Turbineguy]

3. I watched a lecture yesterday

where the instructor asked the class who would be in the upper 15 percent of the class. 70 percent of the students raised their hand.

If you are at the top of the game, this works. If not, and there is demand for workers, the bottom performers will be working these jobs because they can't get regular, full benefit jobs.

[Angry Dragon]

4. The IRS has rules as to whom can be classified as ICs

If the company sets the start times, breaks, etc, then they are not ICs

[msongs]

5. in utah it's all about More Money for the owners and screw the workers nt

[Fumesucker]

7. A new reality TV show?

What will they think of next?

[CarmanK]

8. Is their not a law against promoting information that is "against the law". This isn't avoidance!

This sounds like fraud. Is it okay to hold a class on how to rob a bank and charge for it?

[ScottLand]

9. This is not new. The company my father worked for used to classify him as a manager (though

he didn't manage anyone) so they could make him work overtime without paying him overtime.