§ 25 — Council on the underground economy

Section 25. (a) There is hereby established a council on the underground economy.The council shall coordinate joint efforts to combat the underground economy and employee misclassification, including efforts to: (1) foster compliance with the law by educating business owners and employees about applicable requirements; (2) conduct targeted investigations and enforcement actions against violators; (3) protect the health, safety and benefit rights of workers; and (4) restore competitive equality for law-abiding businesses. For the purposes of this section, the term ''underground economy'' shall mean any individual or business that deals in cash or uses other means to conceal its true tax liability from government licensing, regulatory and taxing agencies, including, but not limited to, tax evasion or fraud, misclassification of employees, wage theft or the unreported payment of wages.(b) The council shall consist of 18 members including: the secretary of labor and workforce development, or a designee, who shall serve as the chair; the director of the department of unemployment assistance, or a designee; the director of the department of industrial accidents, or a designee; the director of labor standards, or a designee; the commissioner of revenue, or a designee; the chief of the attorney general's fair labor division, or a designee; the secretary of public safety and security, or a designee; the commissioner of professional licensure, or a designee; the executive director of the insurance fraud bureau, or a designee; the director of the department of family and medical leave, or a designee; and 8 persons appointed by the governor who represent government agencies. The council may create and appoint members to a subcommittee made up of members representing business, organized labor, not-for-profit organizations, government, the legislature and any political subdivision thereof including municipal governments, to solicit input.(c) The council shall:(1) facilitate timely information sharing among state agencies in order to advise or refer matters of potential investigative interest;(2) identify those industries and sectors where the underground economy and employee misclassification are most prevalent and target council members' investigative and enforcement resources against those sectors, including through the formation of joint investigative and enforcement teams;(3) assess existing investigative and enforcement methods, both in the commonwealth and in other jurisdictions, and develop and recommend strategies to improve those methods;(4) encourage businesses and individuals to identify violators by soliciting information from the public, facilitating the filing of complaints and enhancing the available mechanisms by which workers can report suspected violations;(5) solicit the cooperation and participation of district attorneys and other relevant enforcement agencies, including the insurance fraud bureau, and establish procedures for referring cases to prosecuting authorities as appropriate;(6) work cooperatively with employers, labor and community groups to diminish the size of the underground economy and reduce the number of employee misclassifications by, among other means, disseminating educational materials regarding the applicable laws, including the legal distinctions between independent contractors and employees, and increasing public awareness of the harm caused by the underground economy and employee misclassification;(7) work cooperatively with federal, state and local social services agencies to provide assistance to vulnerable populations that have been exploited by the underground economy and employee misclassification, including, but not limited, to immigrant workers;(8) identify potential regulatory or statutory changes that would strengthen enforcement efforts, including any changes needed to resolve existing legal ambiguities or inconsistencies, as well as potential legal procedures for facilitating individual enforcement efforts; and(9) consult with representatives of business and organized labor, members of the general court, community groups and other agencies to discuss the activities of the council and its members and ways of improving its effectiveness.(d) The council shall file an annual report with the governor and the clerks of the house of representatives and senate summarizing the council's activities during the preceding year. The report shall, without limitation: (1) describe the council's efforts and accomplishments during the year; (2) identify any administrative or legal barriers impeding the more effective operation of the council, including any barriers to information sharing or joint action; (3) propose, after consultation with representatives of business and organized labor, members of the general court and other agencies, appropriate administrative, legislative or regulatory changes to strengthen the council's operations and enforcement efforts and reduce or eliminate any barriers to those efforts; and (4) identify successful preventative mechanisms for reducing the extent of the underground economy and employee misclassification, thereby reducing the need for greater enforcement. Reports of the council shall be made available on the webpage of the executive office of labor and workforce development.