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<section article="gle" article_name="Labor and Employment" number="3-904" title_number="3" title_name="Employment Standards and Conditions" subtitle_number="9" subtitle_name="Workplace Fraud">
  <level label="a">
    <text>An employer may not knowingly fail to properly classify an individual who performs work for remuneration paid by the employer.</text>
  </level>
  <level label="b">
    <text>An employer has knowingly failed to properly classify an individual when:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>an employer–employee relationship exists as determined under § 3–903(c) of this subtitle; and</text>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the employer has knowingly failed to properly classify the individual as an employee.</text>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="c">
    <text>The Commissioner shall consider, as strong evidence that the employer did not knowingly fail to properly classify an individual, whether:</text>
    <level label="1">
      <text>before a complaint was filed against the employer or the Commissioner began an investigation of the employer, the employer:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <text>sought and obtained evidence that the individual:</text>
        <level label="1">
          <text>is an exempt person; or</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>as an independent contractor:</text>
        </level>
        <level label="A">
          <text>withholds, reports, and remits payroll taxes on behalf of all individuals working for the independent contractor;</text>
        </level>
        <level label="B">
          <text>pays unemployment insurance taxes for all individuals working for the independent contractor; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="C">
          <text>maintains workers’ compensation insurance; and</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>provided to the exempt person or independent contractor a written notice as required by § 3–914 of this subtitle; or</text>
      </level>
    </level>
    <level label="2">
      <text>the employer:</text>
      <level label="i">
        <level label="1">
          <text>classifies all workers who perform the same or substantially the same tasks for the employer as independent contractors; and</text>
        </level>
        <level label="2">
          <text>reports the income of the workers to the Internal Revenue Service as required by federal law; and</text>
        </level>
      </level>
      <level label="ii">
        <text>has received a determination from the Internal Revenue Service that the individual or a worker who performs the same or substantially the same task as the individual is an independent contractor.</text>
      </level>
    </level>
  </level>
  <level label="d">
    <text>The Commissioner shall adopt regulations to provide guidance as to what constitutes the evidence relevant to the determination of whether an employer knowingly failed to properly classify an employee.</text>
  </level>
</section>
