NC H674

Establishes the Fair Competition and Employee Classification Act to regulate how employers classify workers as employees versus independent contractors.

Requires employers to notify workers of their employment status at hire and post notices in English and Spanish at job sites explaining workers' rights to proper classification.

Prohibits employers from misclassifying employees as independent contractors, forming entities to evade the law, requiring workers to sign misclassification agreements, or conspiring to violate these provisions.

Imposes civil penalties of $500 to $4,000 per violation on employers who misclassify workers, with enforcement by the Department of Labor and authority to issue stop work orders and debar violators from state contracts for four years after a second violation.

Protects workers from retaliation for complaining about misclassification and shifts the burden to employers to prove by preponderance of evidence that a worker is legitimately an independent contractor rather than an employee.