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Authorizing Council's Committee on Commerce & Economic Development to investigate and hold hearings on the City of Philadelphia's plans to enforce and comply with the U.S. Department of Labor Administrator's Interpretation No. 20151, as well as any current or planned standards and practices by which the City currently enforces Employee Classifications.
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WHEREAS, The City of Philadelphia regularly promotes the development of new and prosperous economic opportunities; and
WHEREAS, The contracting of such economic opportunities should not be considered lightly or without undue oversight; and
WHEREAS, The full and equal enforcement of the Fair Labor Standards Act protects both businesses and workers alike; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division Administrator David Weil, released "Administrator's Interpretation No. 20151" on July 15 , 2015, which seeks to clarify the application of the Fair Labor Standards Act's "Suffer or Permit" Standard in the Identification of employees who are misclassified as Independent Contractors; and
WHEREAS, Worker misclassification is a serious problem for workers, enabling employers to deny access to benefits, to avoid workplace protections, to ignore minimum wage requirements, to deny overtime compensation and leave, to deny unemployment insurance and more; and
WHEREAS, The misclassification of employees results in missed revenue opportunities for Philadelphia; and
WHEREAS, The City Council of Philadelphia Joint Committee on Public Property & Public Works and Technology & Information Services held hearings on April 29, 2016, regarding the build out of the Cable Franchise Agreement between the City and Verizon, which left outstanding questions about the legality of contractors working on their cable plant and other systems; and
WHEREAS, On May 4, 2016, the Pennsylvania House Committee on Consumer Affairs favorably recommended Senate Bill 984. SB 984 creates a foundational...
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