By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

WWE confirmed to Connecticut investigative reporter Brian Lockhart today that the company is being investigated for its classification of talent and workers as independent contractors.

The audit by the Connecticut Department of Labor includes a review of WWE, which is based in Stamford, Conn., classifying wrestlers and behind-the-scenes TV production workers as independent contractors rather than employees.

The timing is part of the story. The audit comes on the heels of U.S. president Barack Obama stating earlier this year that one of his key issues would be cracking down on businesses mis-classifying workers as independent contractors. Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon's opponent in the U.S. Senate race, Richard Blumenthal, has also echoed Obama's plans.

Last week, the issue of independent contractor vs. employee classification came to the forefront when a Yale law professor addressed the issue in-depth during a Democratic-sponsored conference call. He called the classification of WWE wrestlers as independent contractors "immoral" and stated he does not believe it would hold up in a court of law.

WWE spokesman Robert Zimmerman responded to the investigation today, attempting to make it a political issue due to the timing of McMahon competing against Blumenthal in the U.S. Senate race.

“WWE has always complied with the law. 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.”

Zimmerman added: “The average WWE performer earns more than $550,000 annually, while only wrestling less than three days per week. WWE covers 100 percent of all costs associated with any in-ring related injuries and rehabilitation.”

Caldwell's Analysis: This has potential to be a big game-changer, depending on what the audit committee finds, discovers, concludes, etc. 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.

As for WWE's statement, how much WWE talent earns has absolutely nothing to do with independent contractor vs. employee classification. The top 10 percent in WWE are making over $1.0 million to raise that annual average, which is irrelevant anyways. "Wrestling less than three days per week," is misleading, as it fails to take into consideration the full-time WWE schedule where talent are on the road year-round with no break.

WWE covering rehabilitation cost is an indirect indictment of the system. It shouldn't get that point where they need to cover "rehabilitation" costs when talent are destined to break down mentally and physically being on the road 52 weeks out of the year with no off-season. Also, the "wrestling less than three days" statement doesn't take into consideration travel days in-between dates. Wrestlers can't recover physically as part of their training to stay in shape to appear on TV, especially with the increased number of international dates and tours.

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