Hearst Newspapers' Brian Lockhart reports this morning that World Wrestling Entertainment says it is being investigated by the state for its use of independent contractors.
WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman confirmed the existance of the inquiry. "WWE has always complied with the law,'' Zimmerman said in an email to Lockhart. "Up until this election, WWE has not been fined nor investigated in the past for independent contractor classification. However, curiously the state of Connecticut is currently conducting an audit of WWE's classification of independent contractors. WWE constantly reviews its internal practices and procedures to comply with ever-changing employee laws."
Lockhart has many more details on his blog, Political Capitol. And check out James Cladwell's follow on the PWTorch site.
"This has potential to be a big game-changer, depending on what the audit committee finds, discovers, concludes, etc.,'' Caldwell writees. "We don't know the behind-the-scenes timing of when the Dept. of Labor decided to investigate, but I believe the reason why it's suddenly come to the forefront is because of Linda McMahon's campaign. It's the law of unintended consequences where McMahon's Senate run has brought a lot of wrestler health & treatment issues to the forefront as reporters have examined her professional record and business practices, which is essentially her only qualification to run for Senator."
UPDATE: Zimmerman's statement to Lockhart implied there is a political overtone to the state investigation so I asked McMahon campaign spokesman Ed Patru whether he thought politics was playing a role.
The WWE "is certainly entitled to their opionion,'' Patru said. He added that he didn't know anything about the investigation and that it is "an issue that has to do with the company, not the campaign."