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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.