Businesses are increasingly evading employment law by classifying workers as independent contractors and the practice has become "a real problem," said Sen. Elizabeth Warren.
The Massachusetts Democrat made the comments in a wide-ranging interview with ReCode, but sidestepped a question by BuzzFeed as to whether workers for on-demand services, such as Uber and Lyft, should be classified as employees.
"I think there is evidence that increasingly employers use independent contractors not in ways that were originally intended, but in ways that let them treat employment laws differently than they otherwise would be responsible for," Warren said to
BuzzFeed.
"I think that's a real problem and I think the Department of Labor is looking into this and I think they're right to do that."
Full-time employees fill out W-2 forms for the IRS making them eligible for unemployment and other benefits, whereas contract workers fill out 1099 forms excluding them from benefits from their companies and the government.
Last week, a Florida agency ruled that a Uber driver was entitled to be classified as an employee. In California, Uber and Lyft are up against class-action lawsuits from drivers seeking to get employee status, BuzzFeed reported.
The rise of the 1099 economy could become a hot button issue on the election agenda, BuzzFeed said.
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