House OKs Bill To Stop Fraudulent Misclassification Of Employees

                               Oklahoma City, OK (CompNewsNetwork) - Legislation approved today by the Oklahoma House of Representatives would reign in the practice of misclassification of employees in order to avoid payroll taxes and workers' compensation.

Senate Bill 1384, by state Sen. Andrew Rice and state Rep. Cory Williams, requires the Oklahoma Tax Commission, the Oklahoma Workers' Compensation Court and the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission to share information and coordinate efforts to detect employers who intentionally misclassify individuals as independent contractors rather than employees for the purpose of twisting procedures and payments related to withholding and Social Security, unemployment tax or workers' compensation premiums.

“If effective, this legislation stands to significantly raise revenue for the state and level the playing field for all employers,” Williams, D-Stillwater, said. “The bill is an attempt to reign in the practice of misclassification of employees in order to avoid payroll taxes and workers' comp. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission has very definitive criterion to determine whether or not an individual can be classified as an independent contractor and we are trying to catch this fraud on the front end instead of on the back end.”

The legislation would also authorize the agencies to create a secure information database accessible to enforcement representatives of the agencies.

“Often when state agencies are unable to coordinate their efforts effectively, vital information does not reach everyone who it needs to go to,” Williams said. “This legislation gives these three state agencies the tools they need to work together and help address this problem.”

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