Building Trades News

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The measure is aimed at rogue contractors who have been skirting the workers’ compensation law by underreporting the number of employees, misclassifying employees as independent contractors, or paying workers off the books.

According to Brent Beasley, Business Manager of Roofers Local 220, the legislation is good for workers, as well as legitimate union and non-union roofing contractors. "The Roofers Union throughout California has worked with management to get this bill passed. We appreciate all the help we got from the Labor Management Committee’s throughout the State. This bill is welcomed by all legitimate roofing contractors—both union and non-union."

Workers’ comp rates for the roofing industry are some of the highest in the building trades. "There were a good percentage of licensed companies that weren’t carrying any comp insurance," said John Beatty, chief executive of Hester Roofing, a Sacramento commercial and industrial roofing company.

Some roofers have underreported their payrolls to insurers or claimed not to have any employees at all, he said. In some instances, a contractor would apply for coverage after a worker suffered an injury and then file a claim. These practices, Beatty said, raised insurance costs for all roofing companies. "Hopefully this [new legislation] will result in fewer people being hurt and more employers paying the premiums."

"The Roofers Union fought very hard for this legislation because so many crooked, non-union contractors would state they had no workers’ compensation insurance because they had no employees, when all the while they did have employees but were paying them in cash," said Ellyn Moscowitz, a labor attorney who specializes in the Building Trades. "This was bad for the roofer, when he got injured and there was no record of the roofer being an employee, he could not get workers’ compensation insurance. It was also bad for the law-abiding contractor who could not compete for work with these cheating contractors. It’s one more tool the union has to use to keep the industry honest and protect workers."

According to Beasley, cheating contractors were most prevalent in light commercial and residential markets. "By cheating the insurance companies, these contractors were able to dramatically decrease their labor costs and increase their profits. Hopefully this new legislation will stem the flow of contractors who are not operating legitimate businesses and who have not been paying workmans’s comp on their employees."