Master Builders of Iowa

The Iowa Department of Workforce Development’s Worker Misclassification Taskforce is targeting employers throughout the state of Iowa looking for misclassified workers.  Since the July 1, 2009 inception of this Taskforce, over 182 employers have been found to have misclassified 1565 workers.  In total, over $27 million in unreported wages have been found resulting in nearly $1.1 million in unemployment taxes due and over $340,000 in penalties and interest.

Of the 182 employers cited, construction firms accounted for a majority of the cases.  There were 92 firms involved in construction with 900 misclassified workers.  The total unreported wages exceeded $19 million and nearly $100,000 in unemployment taxes due.  The transportation industry had the next highest number of cases with 14 firms being cited in using 74 misclassified workers and $1.4 million in unreported wages.

From the construction perspective, most of the cases are residential builders.  However, it is important to note that inspectors have been actively targeting construction sites – both residential and commercial.  MBI continues to work to inform members on the importance of accurate worker classification and has issued numerous warnings regarding the costly penalties of non-compliance.  (For more information on Worker Misclassification, please CLICK HERE.)

The Worker Misclassification Taskforce was established by an Executive Order issued by Governor Culver and a subsequent appropriation of $750,000 by the Legislature for fiscal year 2009.  The establishment of this Taskforce was the result of heavy pressure being applied by the Building Trades.