Texas could make better use of stop-work orders to crack down on employers who misclassify workers as contractors to avoid paying workers' compensation, a Washington, D.C., think tank said this week.

Andrew Elmore

The Migration Policy Institute, which studies migration worldwide, on Thursday released a study that shows immigrants are twice as likely as native-born workers to be employed in industries in which labor violations are widespread.

Misclassifying workers as independent contractors is common in low-wage businesses, the report said.

Some states, including Texas, are not enforcing labor laws as they could be, the institute said. A stop-work order is an effective enforcement tool, and Texas "may want to consider initiatives, including stop-work orders," study author Andrew Elmore of the New York University School of Law told Houston Public Media.