Independent Contractor Compliance Breakfast Briefings begin Nov. 15

Pepper Hamilton LLP and Kelly Services will present a new series of Breakfast Briefings highlighting the regulatory and judicial challenges facing employers that use independent contractors (ICs); the exposures faced by companies in the areas of labor, tax, and employee benefits; and how businesses can continue to use ICs in compliance with the changing landscape of labor, tax, and employee benefit laws. On Tuesday, Nov. 15, a briefing will take a look at "How Much Is Your Exposure for Independent Contractor Misclassification--and What Tools Are Available to Help You Avoid or Minimize Your Liability for Workers You Pay on a 1099 Basis?" The program will take place at Pepper Hamilton's Detroit Office, Suite 1800, 4000 Town Center in Southfield, beginning with registration and breakfast from 7:30 to 8 a.m. A panel presentation takes place from 8 to 10: 15 a.m. followed by a question and answer session until 11 a.m. The use of ICs to complement a company's workforce is permitted in all states except one, but only if the structure of the IC relationship complies with applicable laws--both in writing and in fact. Now, employers are facing a crackdown on IC misclassification, including cooperative law enforcement initiatives by the U.S. Department of Labor and the IRS; new laws passed by nearly half of the states imposing stiffer penalties for misclassification; a new voluntary "classification settlement program" offered by the IRS; two misclassification bills introduced in Congress; and one class action after another seeking damages for violation of labor laws and unpaid employee benefits against employers alleged to have misclassified employees as ICs. Another prevalent type of exposure faced by employers is liability for unpaid unemployment tax and workers compensation premium payments for all similarly situated workers found to be misclassified as ICs. Those types of state regulatory challenges have increased exponentially and carry heavy penalties, especially for companies that make substantial use of ICs. This series of presentations updates and complements last year's series of over-subscribed Breakfast Briefings presented by Pepper Hamilton and its co-sponsors. Moderated by Kelly Services, these presentations by the co-chairs of Pepper's Independent Contractor Compliance Practice Group will provide attendees with state-of-the-art compliance alternatives and IC solutions designed to keep companies ahead of the curve (and their competition) and minimize or eliminate exposure to misclassification liability. The panelists will address: --How you can determine your company's state of compliance with an array of different IC laws? --If your company is found to be noncompliant, what might your misclassification liability amount to? --What steps can your company take to minimize or eliminate its IC misclassification exposure? --How can you take those steps without inviting government agencies and class action lawyers to scrutinize your state of IC compliance? Moderating the briefing will be Kristen Means, Kelly Services director, Independent Contractor Solutions. Speakers include Pepper Hamilton's Lisa B. Petkun, Tax partner and co-head of Independent Contractor Compliance Practice; Richard J. Reibstein, Labor partner and co-head of Independent Contractor Compliance Practice; and Andrew J. Rudolph, Employee benefits partner and co-head of Independent Contractor Compliance Practice. For more information on this topic, visit Pepper's IC Compliance practice's web page at www.pepperlaw.com, the speakers' comprehensive blog at www.IndependentContractorCompliance.com, and Kelly's Independent Contractor Solutions Web page at www.kellyorg.com. Anyone with questions may contact Larry Halicki at halickil@pepperlaw.com or 248-359-7350 with any questions. Published: Thu, Nov 3, 2011

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