NECA’s CEO Testifies Before Workforce Protections Subcommittee
The National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA) CEO, David Long, testified before the Workforce Protections Subcommittee of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce at a hearing held on April 19.
In his testimony, Long outlined how the misclassification of employees impacts the construction industry, particularly the competitive disadvantage it creates for law-abiding employers.
“The pervasiveness of employee misclassification has been a main focus for NECA in advocating for its more than 4,000 responsible electrical contractor members,” said Long. “NECA greatly appreciates the opportunity to address Members of Congress, on behalf of our members, regarding this issue and the large burden it places on the construction industry.”
Long expressed his discontent with the misclassification requirements, “the current status of misclassification makes it difficult for NECA’s contractors to compete in today’s market. They desire a fair and open enterprise to be able to operate in the electrical contracting industry. I am honored to be able to share with Congress how the misclassification schemes give an unfair and unlawful playing field against responsible contractors in the construction industry while also harming workers and U.S taxpayers.”
NECA has taken a clear stance in the fight against misclassification and other labor provisions within the construction trades. As an industry-leading association, NECA submitted regulatory comments to the Department of Labor in favor of their proposed rule that would return to the original six-factor means test when determining whether is an employee or independent contractor. The proposed rule would return to previous norms and significantly reduce the incidences of using independent contractors as a classification on construction sites.
A recap of the April 19th hearing titled Examining Biden’s War on Independent Contractors, in which Long testified, can be found on the Committee’s website here.
