Officials from the Department of Labor (DOL) and the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the goal of protecting the rights of employees by preventing their misclassification as independent contractors or other nonemployee statuses. Under the agreement, both agencies will share information and coordinate law enforcement.

The MOU represents a new effort on the part of the agencies to work together to protect the rights of employees and level the playing field for responsible employers by reducing the practice of misclassification. The Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training is the latest state agency to partner with the DOL.

Alabama, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New York, Utah, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming agencies have signed similar agreements.


Want more details on how to avoid your own employment mistakes in classifying employees, get a copy of our Worker Misclassificiation Prevention Kit.