The original text of this notice was distributed by the Office of the Vermont Attorney General on Wednesday, August 11, 2021. Questions and comments may be directed to: Charity R. Clark, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171. View the original notice, here: https://ago.vermont.gov/blog/2021/08/11/employee-misclassification-task-force-invites-public-comment/
The Employee Misclassification Task Force will hold two public hearings on the topic of employee misclassification on Thursday, August 26, 2021 and Friday, August 27, 2021 from 11am-1pm (both days). Any member of the public is welcome to attend. The Task Force invites testimony from labor and/or employees on the 26th and employer testimony on the 27th. However, anyone may participate on either or both days, and the Task Force will hear from anyone on either day if scheduling conflicts so require. The Task Force will strive to be as flexible as possible.
Hearings will be online (and recorded) and interested parties should email Task Force Chair Chris Curtis, Chief of the Attorney General’s Public Protection Division (christopher.curtis@vermont.gov) to request a Microsoft Teams meeting invitation. A physical location for those who require a reasonable accommodation will also be provided.
The purpose of the hearings is to listen to stakeholders and any interested members of the public on the topic of employee misclassification generally. In Act 85, the legislature requested the Task Force provide feedback and possible recommendations including, but not limited to, the following:
- potential legislative changes to address shortcomings or difficulties identified by the Task Force in relation to the system of joint enforcement;
- potential legislative changes to enable either the Commissioner of Labor or the Attorney General to seek the full, combined range of penalties and remedies that are currently available to them through joint enforcement;
- whether to expand the joint enforcement of the laws related to employee misclassification to include additional agencies or departments of the State and potential legislative changes to accomplish such an expansion;
- the possibility of creating a private right of action to enforce the provisions of 21 V.S.A. chapter 5, subchapters 2 and 3, and 21 V.S.A. chapters 9 and 17 that relate to employee misclassification; and
- the possibility of creating a private attorneys general act modeled on California law for the enforcement of the provisions of 21 V.S.A. chapter 5, subchapters 2 and 3, and 21 V.S.A. chapters 9 and 17 that relate to employee misclassification.
Interested parties may wish to bear these topics in mind when testifying. The Task Force will also accept written testimony or submissions by email to the Chair: christopher.curtis@vermont.gov. Written material will be posted online and made available to the public.