S. 2252: Fair Playing Field Act of 2015
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S. 2252: Fair Playing Field Act of 2015
114th Congress · introduced 2015-11-05 · Taxation · Latest: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance.
federal
Follow this bill, step by step
- Where it came from: introduced 2015-11-05 · official record
- Who proposed it: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · what a sponsor is
- What happened next: no floor votes in our records yet. Why?
- Where it stands now: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Finance. Not final yet: this can still change. We check for updates every day.
- If it becomes law and spends money: follow the money to money laws, then agencies and contracts and grants.
Official title
Fair Playing Field Act of 2015
Plain summary
Fair Playing Field Act of 2015 This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code, with respect to the classification of workers for employment tax purposes, to: repeal the prohibition against issuance of regulations and guidance by the Department of the Treasury on workers' employment tax status (i.e., as an employee or as an independent contractor) enacted by the Revenue Act of 1978; direct Treasury to issue regulations and other guidance to clarify the proper employment status of workers for employment tax purposes; prohibit a retroactive assessment of employment tax, except with respect to certain skilled workers, for tax periods after December 31, 1978, and before a specified reclassification date for worker misclassifications, unless the taxpayer had no reasonable basis for not treating a worker as an employee; exempt certain individuals who perform professional services from treatment as employees for employment tax purposes; require taxpayers who hire independent contractors on a regular and ongoing basis to provide such contractors with notice of their federal tax obligations, the labor and employment law protections that do not apply to them, and their right to seek a status determination from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS); and eliminate reduced penalty provisions for failure to withhold income taxes for taxpayers who lack a reasonable basis for treating a worker as other than an employee (i.e., as an independent contractor). The IRS Commissioner must issue reports each fiscal year providing information and data on worker classification as an employee or an independent contractor.
Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate), quoted unchanged (nonpartisan). Read the source.
What a vote does
A “Yea” vote
If it passes both chambers and is signed, it becomes law.
A “Nay” vote
If it is not passed, current law stays as it is.
PSI Sci description of the legislative step (not an opinion).
What does this mean? (plain words)
Official text
Fair Playing Field Act of 2015
Source: Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
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The strongest published arguments
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Alternatives
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How did my representative vote? · This bill's floor votes
Officials and money
Sponsor: Sen. Brown, Sherrod [D-OH] · 7 cosponsors
Cost estimate: No cost estimate published yet.
Cosponsors on this site
Richard J. Durbin (D-IL), Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
No linked floor roll calls in our collected records yet. This does not mean the bill has never had a vote. Check the official bill history.
Words on this page, explained (5)
- Bill
- A proposed law. It becomes law only if it passes the legislature and is signed by the president or governor (or a veto is overridden).
- Exemption
- A rule that removes certain people, property or activities from a tax or requirement.
- Fiscal year
- The 12-month period a government uses for its budget. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 to September 30 and is named for the calendar year in which it ends. Most states use July 1 to June 30.
- Obligation
- A binding promise by a government agency to pay money, for example by signing a contract or awarding a grant. Spending data such as USAspending.gov counts money when it is obligated, which can be before it is actually paid out.
- Rulemaking
- The process agencies use to write regulations that carry out laws passed by Congress or a legislature. Usually an agency publishes a proposed rule, takes public comments, then publishes a final rule.
Plain meanings written from linked sources. All words.
Sources
- Congressional Research Service summary (Introduced in Senate)
- Congress.gov
- Data: GovInfo BILLSTATUS bulk data (Library of Congress), BILLSTATUS-114s2252.xml <https://www.govinfo.gov/bulkdata/BILLSTATUS/114/s>
Record fed-us-cong114-s2252 · catalog fed-us-congress-bills-cong114 · updated 2026-11-15 by psicol fed-bills-cong114