February 10, 2023

Today, SWACCA submitted comments on the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network’s (FinCEN) second beneficial ownership proposed rule regarding “Beneficial Ownership Information Access and Safeguards, and Use of FinCEN Identifiers for Entities.”

In its comments, SWACCA highlights its support for the proposed rule’s interpretation that engaging in “law enforcement activity” includes “investigative and enforcement activities relating to civil or criminal violations of law.” This was a key recommendation SWACCA made in its May 2021 comments when FinCEN requested input on implementation of the Corporate Transparency Act’s beneficial ownership reporting regime. SWACCA urged FinCEN to extend authorization to access beneficial ownership information to all federal, state, and local regulatory agencies engaged in investigations of wage theft and tax and payroll fraud associated with the misclassification of workers as independent contractors. SWACCA noted that it supports this interpretation to the extent that it will allow agencies like the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division and other federal agencies to directly query the beneficial ownership database in investigations of wage theft and other legal violations commonly associated with the misclassification of workers in the construction industry.

SWACCA’s comments also noted our support for allowing FinCEN to disclose beneficial ownership information to state, local, and Tribal law enforcement agencies if a court of competent jurisdiction has authorized such law enforcement agency to seek the information in a criminal or civil investigation.

You can read SWACCA’s comments in their entirety here.

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