CITY OF SEATTLE
RESOLUTION __________________
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A RESOLUTION relating to misclassifications of workers as independent contractors when they should be designated as employees; requesting semi-annual updates to the Council starting at the end of the 3rd quarter of 2019 on the work the Office of Labor Standards and Labor Standards Advisory Commission is doing to investigate and correct misclassifications.
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WHEREAS, beginning with the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), 29 U.S.C. Section 201, et seq., federal, state, and local governments have regulated the wages, benefits, and working conditions of many workers working in the private sector and government; and
WHEREAS, these labor laws have covered workers that have been defined as "employees" in various statutes, ordinances, and regulations; and
WHEREAS, coverage and protection under many labor laws have excluded workers who were not defined as "employees" either explicitly or because they did not meet the legal definition of "employee"; and
WHEREAS, for example, the FLSA establishes federal minimum wage, overtime pay, recordkeeping and child labor standards for workers in the private sector and in Federal, State and local governments but applies only to workers classified as employees rather than independent contractors; and
WHEREAS, similarly RCW 49.46, et seq., the State of Washington Minimum Wage Act (MWA) and SMC 14.19, et seq. the City of Seattle Minimum Wage Ordinance applies only to workers who are "employees" as defined by the applicable ordinance; and
WHEREAS, labor laws such as the FLSA and MWA provide exemptions of who is not covered but do not provide clear guidance on whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor; and
WHEREAS, the courts have provided guidance through cases such as Anfinson v. FedEx Ground Package System, Inc., 174 Wn.2d 851 (2012); and
WHEREAS, the Washington State Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board is exploring and developing policies to "fut...
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