Latest News:  November 10, 2011

Additional Penalties Added for Misclassification of Independent Contractors/SB 459

By April S. Glatt

The Department of Labor has added Sections 226.8 and 2753 to the California Labor Code allowing the Labor Workforce Development Agency to serve civil penalties of not less than $5,000 and not more than $15,000 for each violation in addition to those already permitted by law. These civil penalties increase between $10,000 and $25,000 for each infraction if the employer or person has engaged in a practice of independent-contractor misclassification.

If your business uses independent contractors, this is a good time to review how they are treated. Make sure you are doing all you can to support the independent contractor classification.