Editor’s note: More and more news outlets are covering the epidemic levels of cheating in the construction industry and we’re thrilled to see it. One of the latest and best examples is The Dallas Morning News Editorial Board, which has now said worker misclassification is part of the “Dark Side” of the Texas economic miracle. We are told that the editorial board, at least in part, was inspired by the work we’ve done at Construction Citizen to expose the problem. The following editorial was originally published in The Dallas Morning News. Reprinted with permission.
Editorial: The dark side of Texas’ economic miracle
Every day, Texans celebrate the fruits of light government regulation: Housing is cheaper here, the economy is healthy, and jobs are available.
The construction crane easily could be declared the state bird.
But our economic miracle has a troubling byproduct: Texas leads the nation in worker fatalities, according to a recent Dallas Morning News analysis of federal data. The special report by James Gordon reveals that over the last decade, 579 more deaths happened on the job than statistically should have occurred in a state the size of Texas. This embarrassing statistic cries out for Austin to fix the problem now.
Anywhere in the nation, a construction job is much more dangerous than a white-collar office job. In Texas, however, a construction job is 22 percent deadlier than the national average – even when the size of the state is taken into account. Overall, a worker in any occupation here is 12 percent more likely to be killed on the job than if they were doing that job in another state. Even populous states like California, Illinois and New York posted better overall safety records.
If you think this isn’t your problem, think again. Injured workers end up in hospital emergency rooms for treatment on the taxpayer dime or out of work with no place to turn for the medical treatment that would allow them to return to work. Guess who picks up the costs? You do, either in public assistance or in the loss of millions of dollars in unpaid payroll taxes skirted by companies intentionally misclassifying workers.
Some companies willfully game the system, listing workers, often unauthorized immigrants, as independent contractors. This paperwork trick shifts financial and other burdens from the companies to workers and, ultimately, to taxpayers. Workers become responsible for their own safety equipment and training, while firms can skirt paying minimum hourly wages, overtime, certain taxes, benefits and even compensation for on-the-job injuries. There’s a macabre joke among construction workers that if they slip from a roof, they’ll be out of a job before they hit the pavement.
A state law passed last session allows companies to be fined $200 for each misclassified worker at publicly funded worksites. Only one fine has been issued under the law. Separately, an interim legislative committee is reviewing the problem of improperly classified workers. Experts estimate 41 percent of companies probably improperly classify workers. Outrageous. Companies that play by the rules – and taxpayers – should be incensed.
Also, Texas is the only state that doesn’t require private companies to carry workers’ compensation insurance or the equivalent. Making workers’ compensation coverage mandatory, especially for hazardous industries such as construction, merits serious discussion.
Texas’ economic miracle is to be admired and enjoyed, but not on the backs of injured workers.
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