Employer misclassification of workers as independent contractors is a long-standing, pervasive problem affecting millions of workers and costing government agencies billions of dollars each year. Misclassified workers are deprived of rights and protections under federal and state labor and employment laws, including wage and hour protections, anti-discrimination protections, workers’ compensation, unemployment benefits, and the right to organize.
To combat employer misclassification, many states have adopted what is known as the ABC test, a strong and protective legal test for determining employee status. Federal legislation—the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act—would establish the ABC test in federal labor law to better protect workers’ right to organize and collectively bargain.
Join us for a panel of experts, advocates, and enforcers who will explore the problem of employer misclassification of workers as independent contractors and strategies for confronting it at the federal and state levels.
This event is hosted in coordination with the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation.
Register for “Cracking down on worker misclassification”
Who:
Opening remarks from Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez, the chief sponsor of AB5, California’s legislation adopting the ABC test
- Lauren Moran, Chief, Fair Labor Division, Office of the Attorney General, Boston, MA
- Caitlin Vega, Union Made, Sacramento, CA and former legislative director, California Labor Federation
- Bart Sheard, Legislative Representative, AFL-CIO, Washington, D.C.
- Ken Jacobs, Chair, UC Berkeley Labor Center, Berkeley, CA
- Moderator: Lynn Rhinehart, Senior Fellow, EPI