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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2025 - 2026
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | December 12, 2024 09:59 AM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Nick Pisciottano |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Workplace Misclassification Act |
| Independent contracting plays an important role in our economy but is inappropriately used by some employers looking to skirt their obligations for taxes, workers compensation, and unemployment. The Act 85 Final Report notes that improper independent contractor designations cost the General Fund up to $124 million a year and $91 million a year to the UC Trust Fund; plus an additional loss of almost $350,000 a year to the Uninsured Employers Guarantee Fund. The same report estimates that there are currently over a quarter million Pennsylvanians who are inappropriately misclassified as independent contractors, and the personal cost goes beyond just owing taxes. The Act 85 Report notes that in 2021, 10,892 misclassified workers were denied their workers compensation, with estimated losses of over $150 million dollars. Luckily, the same commission gave us a clear recommendation for how to remedy these issues. The Construction Worker Misclassification Act, Act 72 of 2010, is one of the toughest independent contractor laws in the entire country that passed with bipartisan support and has been successful at protecting workers in the construction industry from misclassification. The Act 85 Final Report’s top recommendation was “1) The Joint Task Force recommends that the Pennsylvania General Assembly extend Act 72, the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act, beyond the construction trades to cover other industries in the commonwealth.” To build on the success of Act 72, I am proposing standalone legislation that extends Act 72’s successful provisions to all independent contractors. Please join me in cosponsoring this important legislation. |