Bill > HB449

This bill establishes a new legal remedy for employees who are wrongly classified as independent contractors, meaning they are treated as self-employed when they should be considered employees. If an employer misclassifies an employee and pays them less than they are owed in wages and overtime, the employer will be liable to the employee for the full amount of unpaid wages and overtime, plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, and court costs and attorney fees. Employees can pursue these claims individually or collectively, and can also ask the commissioner of the Department of Workplace Standards to take on their wage claim. The bill also amends existing law to define "independent contractor" by outlining specific criteria, such as the worker being free from the employer's control, performing work outside the usual course of the employer's business, and being established in their own trade, and defines "misclassified" as being incorrectly identified as an independent contractor. Finally, the bill repeals a section of law related to marketplace contractors, which previously addressed their employment status.

Business and Industry

https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/record/26RS/hb449.html