Page 154 - An Indispensible Resource for Being a Credible Activist

fighter identification program. The Minnesota Governor ordered the State to implement
measures to ensure that all newly hired executive branch employees are legally eligible to
work. Mississippi enacted the Mississippi Employment Protection Act, which requires
employers in the State to hire only legal citizens or legal aliens of the United States. In South
Carolina, legislation was enacted that requires every agency or political subdivision of the
State to verify the lawful presence of any person 18 years or older who has applied for State
or local public benefits or public employment. Utah now prohibits a public employer from
entering into a contract with a contractor for the physical performance of services within the
State, unless the contractor registers with, and participates in, the Status Verification System
to verify the work eligibility status of the contractor’s new employees who are employed
within the State. Virginia now permits the State Corporation Commission to terminate the
corporate existence of a corporation for actions of its officers and directors that constitute a
pattern or practice of employing unauthorized aliens in the commonwealth.
Independent contractors. Connecticut established a joint employment commission,
along with an advisory board that will advise the commission on employee misclassification
in the construction industry within the State. In Idaho, key employees or key independent
contractors may enter into written agreements or covenants that protect the employer’s legit-
imate business interests and prohibit the key employee or key independent contractor from
engaging in employment or a line of business that is in direct competition with the
employer’s business after termination of employment. Michigan has created an Interagency
Task Force on Employee Misclassification as an advisory body responsible for examining
and evaluating the existing employee misclassification enforcement mechanism in the State
and for making recommendations for more efficient mechanisms. The Missouri attorney
general is authorized to investigate any alleged or suspected violation of the law in which
an employer knowingly misclassifies a worker and fails to claim that worker as an employee.
In addition, the State attorney general may seek an injunction prohibiting an employer from
engaging in such conduct, for which penalties assessed may reach $50,000. Utah has cre-
ated the Independent Contractor Enforcement Council, which has been directed to design
an independent-contractor database that may be accessed by one or more agencies, the
attorney general, and the State Department of Public Safety. The database is to be used to
identify when a person holds him- or herself out to be an independent contractor or when
a person engages in the performance of work as an independent contractor who is not sub-
ject to the employer’s control.
Minimum wage. Connecticut increased the amount of gratuities that it would recognize
as part of the minimum fair wage for bartenders and others who are employed in the hotel
and restaurant industry. In addition, the minimum wage in the State was increased to $8.00
per hour on January 1, 2009, and will increase to $8.25 per hour on January 1, 2010. Illinois
camp counselors under the age of 18 and employed at a day camp are not subject to the
State adult minimum wage if they are paid a stipend on a one-time or periodic basis and,
for those who are minors, if their parent, guardian, or other custodian has consented in writ-
ing to the terms of payment before employment begins. With some exemptions, the Iowa
minimum-wage requirements shall not apply to an enterprise whose annual gross volume
of sales made or business done, exclusive of excise taxes at the retail level, which are sep-
arately stated, is less than $300,000. Maine increased its minimum hourly wage to $7.25 per

CHAPTER 11 • Different Laws in Different States 137