Key takeaways:

• Employee misclassification is a difficult issue that has been receiving renewed attention on both the federal and state level as officials confronting budget deficits focus on the significant amount of revenue lost when workers are misclassified.
• As the “employer mandate” provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act commence, scrutiny on employee classification and the repercussions resulting from misclassification could increase as employers will be required to provide affordable healthcare coverage to all of their employees or face substantial penalties.
• Employers should consider re-examining their employment practices and policies to make sure there are no classification issues, and be proactive in addressing any potential issues.