PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in Senate · Sep 29, 2008
Employee Misclassification Prevention Act - Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to require every employer to: (1) keep records of non-employees (contractors) who perform labor or services (except substitute work) for remuneration; and (2) provide certain notice to each employee and non-employee, including their classification as an employee or non-employee and information concerning their rights under the law.
Makes it unlawful for any person to fail to accurately classify an employee or non-employee.
Doubles the amount of liquidated damages for maximum hours, minimum wage, and notice of classification violations by an employer. Subjects a person who repeatedly or willfully violates such notice requirements to a civil penalty not to exceed $10,000 for each violation.
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Directs the Secretary of Labor to establish a web page on the Department of Labor website that summarizes the rights of employees under the Fair Labor Standards Act and other federal laws.
Requires, as a condition for a federal grant for the administration of state unemployment compensation, for the state's unemployment compensation law to include a provision for: (1) auditing programs that identify employers that have not registered under the state law or that are paying unreported compensation where the effect is to exclude employees from unemployment compensation coverage; and (2) establishing administrative penalties for misclassifying employees or paying unreported unemployment compensation to employees.
Requires any office, administration, or division of the Department of Labor to report any misclassification of an employee by an employer that it discovers to the Department's Employment Standards Administration (ESA). Authorizes the ESA to report such information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).
People & committees
Sen. Kennedy, Edward M. [D-MA] · D–MA
Legislative record
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate
Primary sources
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Source last updated: Dec 5, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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