§ 861-a. Legislative findings and intent. The legislature hereby finds
and declares that New York state's construction industry is experiencing
dangerous levels of employee misclassification fraud. Unscrupulous
employers are intentionally reporting employees as independent
contractors to state and federal authorities or workers' compensation
carriers in record numbers. In addition, there has been an explosion of
employers who operate in the underground economy and fail to report all
or a sizable portion of their workers.

The legislature hereby finds and declares that recent studies of New
York city's construction industry alone suggests that as many as fifty
thousand New York city construction workers -- nearly one in four -- are
either misclassified as independent contractors or are employed by
construction contractors completely off the books. Construction industry
fraud reduces government revenue, shifts tax and workers' compensation
insurance costs to law-abiding employees, lowers working conditions and
steals jobs from legitimate employers and their employees.

Therefore, the legislature hereby finds and declares that government
has an obligation to curb this underground economy, enforce
long-standing employment laws, ensure compliance with essential social
insurance protections and eliminate the unfair competitive advantage
from contractors in the underground economy by and through the enactment
of the New York state construction industry fair play act.