Budget Amendment ID: FY2015-S4-418
ECO 418
Joint Task Force on the Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification
Messrs. Wolf and Humason moved that the proposed new text be amended in section 2, moved that the bill be amended in section 2, by inserting after line item 7003-0201 the following item:
“xxxx-xxxx For the underground economy division…$250,000”;
and that the bill be further amended by inserting the following new section:
“SECTION __. (A) Chapter 23 is hereby amended by adding the following section:-
Section 25. (a) There shall be within the department of labor standards an underground economy division. The director of the division shall support the efforts of the coordinating council established in subsection (b) and provide suitable meeting space and such clerical and other assistance as the director and the council may deem necessary.
(b) There shall be a coordinating council on the underground economy. The council shall coordinate joint efforts to combat the underground economy and employee misclassification, including efforts to: (i) foster compliance with the law by educating business owners and employees about applicable requirements; (ii) conduct joint, targeted investigations and enforcement actions against violators; (iii) protect the health, safety and benefit rights of workers; and (iv) restore competitive equality for law-abiding businesses.
(c) The council shall consist of the following members or their designees: the secretary of labor and workforce development, who shall serve as the chair, the director of the department of unemployment assistance, the director of the department of industrial accidents, the director of labor standards, the commissioner of revenue, the chief of the attorney general's fair labor division, the commissioner of the department of public safety, the director of the division of professional licensure, the commissioner of the division of capital asset management and maintenance, the chairman of the alcoholic beverages control commission, the chairman of the Massachusetts commission against discrimination, the commissioner of the division of banks, the executive director of the Massachusetts office of refugees and immigrants, the executive director of the office of small business and entrepreneurship, the executive director of the supplier diversity office and the executive director of the insurance fraud bureau. Additional members may be added at the discretion of the director of the department of labor standards.
(d) The council shall:
(1) facilitate timely information sharing between and among council members, including through the establishment of protocols by which participating agencies will advise or refer to other agencies matters of potential investigative interest;
(2) identify those industries and sectors where the underground economy and employee misclassification are most prevalent and target council members' investigative and enforcement resources against those sectors, including through the formation of joint investigative and enforcement teams;
(3) assess existing investigative and enforcement methods, both in the commonwealth and in other jurisdictions, and develop and recommend strategies to improve those methods;
(4) encourage businesses and individuals to identify violators by soliciting information from the public, facilitating the filing of complaints and enhancing the available mechanisms by which workers can report suspected violations;
(5) solicit the cooperation and participation of district attorneys and other relevant enforcement agencies, including the insurance fraud bureau, and establish procedures for referring cases to prosecuting authorities as appropriate;
(6) work cooperatively with employers, labor and community groups to diminish the size of the underground economy and reduce the number of employee misclassifications by, among other means, disseminating educational materials regarding the applicable laws, including the legal distinctions between independent contractors and employees and increasing public awareness of the harm caused by the underground economy and employee misclassification;
(7) work cooperatively with federal, state and local social services agencies to provide assistance to vulnerable populations that have been exploited by the underground economy and employee misclassification, including, but not limited, to immigrant workers;
(8) identify potential regulatory or statutory changes that would strengthen enforcement efforts, including any changes needed to resolve existing legal ambiguities or inconsistencies, as well as potential legal procedures for facilitating individual enforcement efforts; and
(9) consult with representatives of business and organized labor, members of the general court, community groups and other agencies to discuss the activities of the council and its members and ways of improving its effectiveness.
(e) The department of labor standards shall transmit an annual report to the governor summarizing the council’s activities during the preceding year. The report shall, without limitation: (i) describe the council’s efforts and accomplishments during the year; (ii) identify any administrative or legal barriers impeding the more effective operation of the council, including any barriers to information sharing or joint action; (iii) propose, after consultation with representatives of business and organized labor, members of the legislature and other agencies, appropriate administrative, legislative or regulatory changes to strengthen the council’s operations and enforcement efforts and reduce or eliminate any barriers to those efforts; and (iv) identify successful preventative mechanisms for reducing the extent of the underground economy and employee misclassification, thereby reducing the need for greater enforcement. The council shall also take appropriate steps to publicize its activities.
(f) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, every agency within the executive branch shall make all reasonable efforts to cooperate with the division and the council and to furnish such information and assistance as the division and council reasonably deem necessary to accomplish its purposes.
(B) Section 21 of chapter 62C of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2012 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in lines 158 to 160, inclusive, the words “Joint Enforcement Task Force on the Underground Economy and Employee Misclassification, established by Executive Order 499,” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- coordinating council on the underground economy and the underground economy division, established by section 25 of chapter 23.”