Palo Alto, CA (March 4, 2021) – Stoke Talent, a leading freelance management system, announces today the release of its Worker Classification Engine. This artificial intelligence algorithmic screening solution is able to offer early detection of high-risk independent contractor (IC) and/or freelancer relationships, which may lead to costly misclassification penalties and possible lawsuits if left undetected. This is the first product of its kind built to provide companies with a continuous, automated solution that monitors and tracks each individual relationship for full compliance with all workforce classification laws.
The booming freelance economy has commanded the attention of the legal system. The federal government, state governments and government agencies have begun to develop legislation that would ensure companies are unable to falsely classify their employees as contractors and, by doing so, prevent them from associated social benefits and tax contributions. Threats of penalties from the U.S. The Department of Labor (DOL), Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other agencies – not to mention class-action lawsuits and failed audits – have also added a sense of urgency to the issue.
Moreover, each involved government agency applies its own logic to the determination of workforce classification, creating a lack of uniformity and costly room for error. Classification tests depend on very specific and individualized details that hiring managers may not be aware play a role and legal teams have no visibility into. Before Stoke Talent, a business looking to be able to guarantee proper workforce classification was required to take on these extensive legal intricacies and consistent manual monitoring undertakings on its own.
“Freelancers are key to productivity, especially in our current global economy. We are aware of many legal counsels concerns over workforce classification, so we’ve developed a simple, continuous, highly accurate and user-friendly solution that removes any related risk or looming concern.” said Shahar Erez, CEO and Co-founder of Stoke Talent. “Stoke can help companies to rely on ICs and freelancers to accelerate time to market and increase their efficiency by eliminating all concerns regarding legal and tax compliance.”
The Worker Misclassification Engine was developed based on the analysis of thousands of past workforce misclassification cases, and is therefore able to cater to the needs of any vertical type of freelance knowledge worker and any state. Compliance is guaranteed through a continuous analysis of more than 25 data points – including location, relationship duration, corporate equipment usage, primary communication methods and more – which triggers risk notifications instantly. Additionally, because of the engine’s extensive cognizance of past cases, it has the knowledge required to make smart recommendations on the next steps companies can take to reduce risk. With these capabilities, legal teams can rest assured they are remaining compliant, while hiring managers can remain focused on leveraging the agility of the freelance workforce and driving productivity, and ultimately, supporting the bottom line.
To learn more about this capability, please visit https://www.stoketalent.com/workforce-classification/
About Stoke Talent
Stoke Talent is a freelance management system (FMS) that makes it easy for companies to work with independent contractors. It reduces the hassle of hiring, onboarding, tracking and managing invoices while ensuring full legal and tax compliance. To learn more about the company, visit www.stoketalent.com.
