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Payroll Fraud & Underground Economy

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How Gig Economy Businesses Can Create Good Jobs--or Destroy Them

September 7, 2017

By Leigh Buchanan
Inc. magazine
"A congressional hearing Wednesday explored how the sharing economy must evolve to ensure fair wages and stability for workers....Yes, flexibility is desirable. But it is no substitute for security, said Sharon Block, executive director of the Labor and Worklife Program at Harvard Law School."

Also reported in: shrm logo"Are Federal Regulations Needed for Today's Sharing Economy?" By Kathy Gurchiek
Sep 12, 2017, Society for Human Resource Management

Also reported in: jd supra logo "September 2017 Independent Contractor Misclassification and Compliance News Update: Legislative Initiatives: CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEE HOLDS EXPLORATORY HEARING ON CHANGES TO LABOR AND TAX LAWS AFFECTING THE GIG ECONOMY" by Locke Lord LLP and Richard Reibstein
October 10, 2017, JD Supra

... Read more about How Gig Economy Businesses Can Create Good Jobs--or Destroy Them
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Sharon Block addressed the 2017 Interstate Labor Standards Association

August 24, 2017
LWP Executive Director Sharon Block addressed the 2017 Interstate Labor Standards Association in Little Rock, Arkansas on LWP’s new project on Payroll Fraud and the Underground Economy.  Block previewed for ILSA members a survey that LWP fellows Terri Gerstein and Mark Erlich are developing to gain insights into new frontiers in misclassification and effective strategies for combatting it.
Terri Gerstein photo

Terri Gerstein

Director, State and Local Enforcement Project
LWP Fellow
Research on Labor Standards Enforcement

Terri Gerstein is the Director of the State and Local Enforcement Project at the Harvard Law School Labor and Worklife Program, and also a Fellow in the Program. She recently completed an Open Society Foundations Leadership in Government fellowship. Previously, she worked for over 17 years enforcing labor laws in New York State, including as the Labor Bureau Chief for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and as a Deputy Commissioner in the New York State Department of Labor. Before her government service, Terri was a nonprofit lawyer in Miami, Florida, where she represented immigrant workers and also co-hosted a Spanish language radio show on workers’ rights.

Her work has appeared in publications including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Guardian, and The Hill, among others; a complete listing can be found here. She has also appeared on Democracy Now, Univision and Telemundo. She’s a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School.

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tgerstein@law.harvard.edu
Twitter: @TerriGerstein
Ph.D. Françoise Carré and Randall Wilson. 4/25/2005. The Social and Economic Costs of Employee Misclassification in the Maine Construction Industry . Cambridge, MA: Construction Policy Research Center Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School and Harvard School of Public Health. Publisher's VersionAbstract
You can call a construction worker by any other name , but they're still a construction worker, right? Not according to a recent study sponsored by Harvard Law School's Labor and Worklife Program. Construction workers, whose job duties remain unchanged, seem to be turning into "independent contractors," a label that's not only misleading but carries with it important worker compensation insurance and tax collection implications. The study, "The Social and Economic Costs of Employee Misclassification in Construction," conducted by Dr. Francoise Carre and Randall Wilson at UMass Boston's Center for Social Policy documents an alarming pattern of employee misclassification in both the Maine and Massachusetts construction industries between 2001-2003
Françoise Carré and Randall Wilson. 12/17/2004. The Social and Economic Costs of Employee Misclassification in Construction. Cambridge, MA: Construction Policy Research Center and Labor and Worklife Program, Harvard Law School and Harvard School of Public Health. Publisher's VersionAbstract
You can call a construction worker by any other name, but they're still a construction worker, right? Not according to a recent study sponsored by Harvard Law School's Labor and Worklife Program. Construction workers, whose job duties remain unchanged, seem to be turning into "independent contractors," a label that's not only misleading but carries with it important worker compensation insurance and tax collection implications. The study, "The Social and Economic Costs of Employee Misclassification in Construction," conducted by Dr. Francoise Carre and Randall Wilson at UMass Boston's Center for Social Policy documents an alarming pattern of employee misclassification in Massachusetts construction industry between 2001-2003.
Mark Erlich

Mark Erlich

Wertheim Fellow
Research on Misclassification and Underground Economy

Mark Erlich retired as Executive Secretary-Treasurer (EST) of the New England Regional Council of Carpenters, a 19,000 member organization in March 2017.  A member of Carpenters Local 40 since 1975, he worked at his craft as an apprentice, journeyman, foreman, and superintendent. While EST, Erlich chaired the New England Carpenters Benefits Funds and the New England Carpenters Training Fund. He was a Vice-President of the Mass AFL-CIO and Mass Building Trades.  He continues to serve as a member on the Boston Zoning Board of Appeals, MassINC board, and the Federal Reserve Advisory Council.... Read more about Mark Erlich

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merlich@law.harvard.edu

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