WASHINGTON – Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) is continuing to fight for the 70 million Americans who provide for themselves and their families as independent contractors.
Today, Chairwoman Foxx is threatening to subpoena Department of Labor (DOL) Acting Secretary Julie Su following her failure to provide responses and data regarding worker misclassification, which the Biden-Harris administration claims is rampant and hurting workers.
In the letter, Foxx writes:“The Biden-Harris administration appears to have taken the stance that forcing all workers into employee status is the only way to ensure they receive pay and benefits. The Biden-Harris administration’s ultimate goal appears to be to all but eliminate independent-contractor status, classifying as many workers as possible as employees through government mandates that limit the flexibility that independent work provides. The Committee on Education and the Workforce (Committee) is continuing to seek information about the administration’s efforts to eliminate the independent contractor model and classify as many workers as employees as possible in order to increase government control over workers. The Department of Labor’s (DOL) responses to previous questions and requests for data leave the Committee without needed insights regarding DOL’s implementation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). DOL has once again failed to fulfill its obligations to provide complete responses to assist the Committee in its consideration of possible legislation related to federal wage and hour policies.”
Foxx reiterated her request for answers to several questions:
Since January 20, 2021, how many instances of misclassification have Wage and Hour Division (WHD) inspectors found? Please provide the total number of instances across each occupation that has been subject to investigation.
Please provide the number of misclassification enforcement investigations WHD has initiated for each specific industry sector since January 20, 2021.
Has DOL initiated any investigations related to misclassification based on its coordination with the National Labor Relations Board and the Federal Trade Commission? If so, please provide the number of investigations DOL has undertaken, broken down by each specific industry segment.
Foxx concludes the letter:“Unfortunately, your responses to these QFRs provided none of the requested data. Your failure to provide the requested information has obstructed the Committee’s oversight activities. … DOL’s failure to provide complete responses to oversight on this matter could lead the Committee to take compulsory action.”
