Subscriber price: $25.00, Non-subscriber price: $30.00
Estimated total study time: 35 minutes
In tough economic times, governments look for ways to secure additional tax revenue. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) recently found that the federal government stands to lose $7 billion in payroll-tax revenue over the next decade because employees are often misclassified as Independent Contractors (ICs). As a result, both federal and state tax- and labor-enforcement agencies are ramping up efforts to audit businesses to recapture tax dollars from employers who misclassify employees.
Meanwhile, wage-and-hour lawsuits are becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of class-action litigation. These disputes often involve accusations that "non-exempt" employees have been misclassified as "exempt," which can mean claims for two or three years' worth of back-pay and benefits for large groups of employees.
Worker-classification audits and lawsuits have led to some staggering costs for employers. In 2009, the ten biggest private wage-and-hour settlements totaled almost $364 million, a 44% increase from the year before. Wise employers are training their managers on worker-classification issues to avoid contributing to these grim statistics.
This 35-minute course explains the differences between employees and ICs and between exempt and non-exempt employees in simple, understandable terms. It includes pop quizzes, news clippings and a final quiz highlighting real-world worker-classification issues, so that managers can help their organizations avoid the hazards of misclassification.
The topics covered in this course include: