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§EO21-9. (No. 08-12) [Governor's Task Force on Employee Misclassification


Published: 2015

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The Vermont Statutes Online



Title

03APPENDIX

:
Executive Orders






Chapter

021

:
LABOR











 

§

EO21-9. (No. 08-12) [Governor's Task Force on Employee Misclassification

WHEREAS, Vermont

law provides that all workers are considered employees unless a worker is

lawfully exempt as an "independent contractor," and

WHEREAS, when an

employee is misclassified as an independent contractor, the employer

potentially violates numerous laws, and

WHEREAS, the

misclassification of employees harms Vermont workers by depriving them of

important legal rights, harms Vermont taxpayers and the State's economy through

the loss of state and federal payroll taxes, and harms employers who abide by

the law by enabling non-compliant business to gain an unfair advantage, and

WHEREAS,

Vermont's laws regarding misclassification must be aggressively enforced in a

coordinated, timely, and consistent manner by all agencies and departments.

NOW THEREFORE,

BE IT RESOLVED that I, Peter Shumlin, by virtue of the authority vested in me

as Governor of the State of Vermont, do hereby create the "Governor's Task

Force on Employee Misclassification" as set forth below.

 I. Composition, Appointments, and Process

The Task Force

shall consist of the following members:

- The Secretary

of Administration or designee

- The

Commissioner of Labor or designee

- The

Commissioner of Financial Regulation or designee

- The

Commissioner of Taxes or designee

- The

Commissioner of Buildings and General Services or designee

- The Secretary

of Transportation or designee

- The Secretary

of Human Services or designee

- The Secretary

of Commerce or designee

- The

Commissioner of Liquor Control or designee

The Task Force

may also request the participation of other state officials, including the

Attorney General or designee and the Secretary of State or designee.

The Commissioner

of Labor or his or her designee shall chair the Task Force. The Task Force may

elect a deputy chair. The Department of Labor shall provide administrative

support. The Task Force shall meet every two months at the call of the Chair or

deputy chair.

 II. Charge

The Task Force

is charged with combating the practice of employee misclassification and shall

report its findings to the Governor on January 15 of each year.

The Task Force

shall:

A. Examine and

evaluate existing misclassification enforcement by agencies and departments;

B. Develop and

implement a campaign to educate and inform employers, workers, and the general

public about misclassification;

C. Coordinate

review of existing law and other methods to improve monitoring and enforcement

of misclassification;

D. Review and

establish reasonable mechanisms to accept complaints and reports of

non-compliance;

E. Review

templates for state contracts and grants and monitor systems to ensure

compliance by contractors and grant recipients;

F. Identify

barriers to information sharing and recommend statutory changes where

necessary;

G. Work

collaboratively with businesses, labor, and other interested stakeholders in

the effort to reduce employee misclassification;

H. Ensure that

agencies and departments are engaged in timely enforcement and that any

penalties and debarment periods are posted to a publicly available website in a

timely manner, where permitted by law. Additional methods of public notice and

information sharing shall be reviewed and recommended by the Task Force.

I. Engage in other

activities as deemed necessary and appropriate by the Task Force, as permitted

by law.

All agencies and

departments shall cooperate with the Task Force and furnish information in a

timely fashion. The Task Force is authorized to receive monetary and other

assistance in furtherance of its duties upon approval of the Governor in

accordance with law. The Department of Labor shall be the fiscal recipient of

any such funds.

 III. Effective Date

This Executive

Order shall take effect upon signing and shall continue in full force and

effect until further order by the Governor.

Dated September

8, 2012.