North Carolina General Statutes 95-25.15. Investigations and inspection of records; notice of law
(a) The Commissioner or his designated representative shall have the power and authority to enter any place of employment and gather such facts as are essential to determine whether or not the employer is covered by any provision of this Article.
With respect to any provision of this Article under which the employer is covered, the Commissioner or the Commissioner’s designated representative may inspect such places and such records, make transcriptions of any and all such records, question employees and investigate such facts, conditions, practices, or matters as are necessary to determine whether the employer has violated said provision of this Article.
With respect to the provisions of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-25.6 through 95-25.12 (Wage Payment) as those provisions apply to persons covered by the Fair Labor Standards Act, the Commissioner or his designated representative shall have no authority under this subsection unless the Commissioner or his designated representative has received a complaint from an employee of the covered establishment.
(b) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, every employer subject to any provision of this Article shall make, keep, and preserve such records of the persons employed by the employer, including the ages of employees, and of the wages, hours, and other conditions and practices of employment which are essential to the enforcement of this Article and are prescribed by regulation of the Commissioner, except that the Commissioner shall have no authority to prescribe records for the State of North Carolina, a city, town, county or other municipality or agency or instrumentality of government.
(c) A poster summarizing the major provisions of this Article shall be displayed in every establishment subject to this Article. This poster shall also include notice indicating the following in plain language:
(1) Any worker who is defined as an employee by either N.C. Gen. Stat. § 95-25.2(4), 143-786(a)(3), 96-1(b)(10), 97-2(2), or 105-163.1(4) shall be treated as an employee unless the individual is an independent contractor.
Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 95-25.15
- Commissioner: means the Commissioner of Labor. See North Carolina General Statutes 95-25.2
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Employee: includes any individual employed by an employer. See North Carolina General Statutes 95-25.2
- Employer: includes any person acting directly or indirectly in the interest of an employer in relation to an employee. See North Carolina General Statutes 95-25.2
- Establishment: means a physical location where business is conducted. See North Carolina General Statutes 95-25.2
- Fair Labor Standards Act: means the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended and as the same may be amended from time to time by the United States Congress. See North Carolina General Statutes 95-25.2
- following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
- state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
(2) Any employee who believes that the employee has been misclassified as an independent contractor by the employee’s employer may report the suspected misclassification to the Employee Classification Section within the Industrial Commission.
(3) The physical location, mailing address, telephone number, and e-mail address where alleged incidents of employee misclassification occurred may be reported to the Employee Classification Section within the Industrial Commission. (1937, c. 317, ss. 5, 19; 1959, c. 475; 1971, c. 1231, s. 2; 1973, c. 649, s. 4; 1975, c. 413, ss. 7, 9; 1979, c. 839, s. 1; 2005-453, s. 22; 2009-351, s. 2; 2017-203, s. 3.)