Labor and Employment Law Cocktail

General Assembly Will Scrutinize Independent Contractor Classifications by Timothy M. McConville, Esq.

The Virginia General Assembly in its 2011 session adopted a resolution directing the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (“JLARC”) to study any misclassification of employees as independent contractors in Virginia.  In conducting its study, the JLARC is required to review the status of employee misclassification in the state, review the consequences of any misclassification to the workforce, estimate the amount of revenue potentially lost to the state and to local governments, and recommend strategies for alleviating any misclassification or improper classification of employees.  The resolution adopted by both the State Senate and State House indicated that misclassification of workers may deprive state and federal governments of tax revenue.  The resolution specifically cited a 2006 estimate by the United States Government Accountability Office that the federal government was deprived of approximately $2.72 billion in taxes because of employee misclassification. 

General Assembly Enacts E-Verify Requirement for State Contractors By Timothy M. McConville, Esq.

While the Virginia General Assembly adjourned earlier this year without passing any bills that impose new obligations on all employers, it did enact new code provisions relating to employers that contract with a state agency. The General Assembly passed, and Governor Robert McDonnell signed into law, legislation that requires covered state contractors to register and participate in the federal E-Verify program operated by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The E-Verify program is designed to verify the work authorization status of newly hired employees under the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986. The new law, which becomes effective on December 1, 2013, requires covered contractors to verify information and work authorization of its newly hired employees performing work pursuant to a covered public contract.