Worker misclassification bills advancing in Legislature
A Louisiana House committee approved a bill Thursday that seeks to change how state officials deal with employers that improperly classify their employees as independent contractors.
Employers pay taxes into the unemployment trust fund based on their employee payroll. Claiming that your employees are contract workers allows an employer to dodge those taxes, forcing companies that play by the rules to shoulder more of the burden to support the fund, some lawmakers and officials said.
House Bill 705 by Columbia Republican Rep. Neil Riser is awaiting a vote in the Senate. It would enhance penalties for misclassification and establish criteria to define who is or isn’t an employee. Penalties would be waived for a first offense if the employer gets into compliance within 60 days.