During the AFL-CIO Executive Council’s winter meeting, U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) Secretary Hilda Solis announced plans to address what she perceives to be the rampant misclassification of independent contractors by their would-be employers.  Designed to inform workers of their rights and protections under federal law, notify them of whom to contact should they have questions or issues, and enlighten them about “who they can trust,” the campaign will begin in Houston, Texas as early as April.

The DOL’s campaign is part of a new, joint DOL-Treasury Department initiative that seeks to combat misclassification of employees as independent contractors.  The DOL’s proposed budget for the campaign includes a request for $25 million to hire additional Wage and Hour division employees, employees to pursue misclassification litigation, and funds to modify the training curriculum and investigation guidelines used by Occupational Safety and Health Administration (“OSHA”) inspectors.  According to Secretary Solis, the DOL’s focus on misclassification will look first at those sectors where she believes the most “egregious abuse” is occurring - the service and construction industries.  Employers in all industries, and certainly those in the service and construction industries, should take a second look at whether they have properly classified individuals as independent contractors.  Employers should also make sure to maintain all documents and records relating to their workforce for at least the three-year statute of limitations period on wage covering misclassification claims.

Secretary Solis also took time during her remarks to comment on the make up of the National Labor Relations Board and the seemingly-stalled Employee Free Choice Act (“EFCA”).  Declining to provide specifics or discuss particular nominees, Secretary Solis indicated that “people will be pleased, they will be very pleased,” with the NLRB’s composition.  Her comments hint that the White House will not give up on its embattled Board nominee, Craig Becker, the AFL-CIO’s former associate general counsel.  With regard to EFCA, Secretary Solis acknowledged that she did not have the ability to pressure Congress to pass EFCA, but indicated she would continue to acknowledge its merits, and she encouraged labor organizations not to give up on its passage.