Alabama's Labor Department has agreed to work with the U.S. Department of Labor to crack down on businesses that classify people as independent contractors when they are really regular employees.
Alabama Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald Washington and the U.S. Department of Labor's regional director for the wage and hour division, Wayne Kotowski, signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday in Montgomery. Kotowski said Alabama is the 16th state to sign an agreement to share information and coordinate enforcement.
He said employees incorrectly listed as independent contractors are often denied family and medical leave, overtime pay, minimum wage pay and unemployment insurance.
Washington says more than 1,500 misclassified workers were found in Alabama last year and that the problem is growing.