Earlier this week, the U.S. Department of Labor held a ceremony at which Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis signed a memorandum of understanding with the Internal Revenue Service to "improve departmental efforts to end the business practice of misclassifying employees in order to avoid providing employment protections." The DOL also signed or has agreed to sign memorandums of understanding with officials in 11 states to coordinate efforts to crack down on independent contractor misclassification, including Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Utah, and Washington.

Although misclassifying workers as independent contractors can result in violations of numerous laws, including the tax code and wage and hour laws, the various government agencies charged with enforcing those laws have historically not shared information or coordinated their enforcement efforts. That now now appears to be coming to an end, as the DOL becomes more aggressive in its enforcement efforts and state and federal governments look for opportunities to enhance their revenues.