Labor & Employment (Gig Economy)

HB 721 amends Pennsylvania's Construction Workplace Misclassification Act to strengthen protections for construction workers who are incorrectly classified as independent contractors instead of employees. The bill allows affected workers to file lawsuits against companies for misclassification and imposes criminal penalties for repeated violations, while also adding safeguards against employer retaliation for reporting violations. It expands administrative penalties for misclassification and requires that penalty funds be used to support enforcement efforts. This directly affects construction companies that misclassify workers and construction workers who lose benefits like overtime pay, health insurance, or workers' compensation due to improper classification.

HB 276 creates a permanent Employee Misclassification Working Group to coordinate state agencies addressing worker classification issues. The bill requires departments like Labor and Revenue to collaborate on identifying and resolving cases where employers wrongly classify workers as independent contractors. This working group will develop strategies to protect workers' access to benefits like unemployment insurance and workers' compensation. The law directly affects state agencies managing labor enforcement and workers' rights, aiming to improve interagency efficiency in tackling misclassification.