Consider yourself warned: The U.S. Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service are cracking down on companies that misclassify
employees as independent contractors to avoid paying employment taxes.
If the IRS finds you've misclassified
an employee as an independent contractor, you'll pay a percentage of income taxes that should have been withheld on the employee's wages and be liable for your share of the FICA and unemployment taxes, plus penalties and interest.
Caution should be exercised when classifying virtual
employees as independent contractors.
The first guideline — released in July 2015 on a now - deleted page of the DOL's website — addressed the issue of misclassifying
employees as independent contractors.
In 2013, the U.S. government will carefully scrutinize businesses that may be falsely categorizing on - the - job
employees as independent contractors.
Aside from the astroturf nature of the planned events, which appear aimed at passing off industry
employees as independent citizens, the memo also raises questions about the positions of several major oil companies on the issue of climate change.
A common situation is when a company treats
employees as independent contractors in practice (not paying payroll taxes on the workers), but then also claims tax deductions as if the workers were employees.
If the IRS believes that you have misclassified
an employee as an independent contractor in an attempt to evade federal taxes, they can come down on your hard.
An employer may also attempt to classify
an employee as an independent contractor when they are actually a regular employee covered under state and federal labor laws.
This new provision is primarily aimed at the misclassification of
employees as independent contractors.
Some of the most common are wrongful termination, discrimination, retaliation, violations of the Family Medical Leave Act, violations of the Fair Employment and Housing Act, Violations of the California Family Rights Act, privacy breaches (e.g. disclosure of a medical condition to someone who did not need to know), contract breaches, unfair bargaining and / or union and labor law disputes, unpaid wages, unpaid overtime, failure to pay minimum wage for all hours worked, failure to provide proper pay stubs, failure to pay for unused vacation days upon resignation or termination, failure to pay for all hours worked within 72 hours of quitting, failure to pay for all hours worked immediately upon leaving when the employee gives fair notice or resignation to the employer, failure to keep adequate records, failure to produce employment records upon request, failure to provide wage and pay information upon hiring, misclassification of an hourly employee as an exempt employee, misclassification of an hourly
employee as an independent contractor, work place bullying, sexual harassment, disparate impact, disparate treatment, class actions for failure to pay wages and over time, class actions for failure to provide meal and rest breaks, and class actions for failure to reimburse employees for expenses.
For example, employers sometimes misclassify
employees as independent contractors because independent contractors are not entitled to overtime pay.
Currently, the Act expressly prohibits employers from misclassifying
employees as independent contractors.
Misclassifying
employees as independent contractors would be prohibited under the ESA and subject to a range of penalties, including prosecution, public disclosure of a conviction and monetary penalties.
(4) Such
employees as the Independent Police Review Director considers necessary to carry out his or her duties may be appointed under Part III of the Public Service of Ontario Act, 2006.
Bill 148 expressly prohibits employers from treating
employees as independent contractors.
Misclassifying
employees as independent contractors, or other non-employees, is now expressly prohibited.
US Labor Department and State of California Sign Agreement to Reduce Misclassification of
Employees as Independent Contractors.
Not exact matches
Companies such
as Uber and Instacart stand to save a ton of money on labor costs — up to 40 percent, according to one study — by continuing to classify their workers
as independent contractors rather than
as employees.
Ultimately, the news from Microsoft may also have a substantial side effect: forcing an increasing number of companies to take a second look to ensure they are correctly classifying temporary workers, either
as W - 2
employees or
independent contractors.
By paying workers
as independent contractors when they should be paid
as employees, federal, state and local governments potentially miss out on tax revenue they would otherwise collect; this tax gap was the focus of a special report to Congress in 2011 and continues to be an area of focus today.
Last week, California's Labor Commission ruled that Uber drivers should be classified
as independent employees, not
as contractors.
A California Supreme Court ruling on Monday will make it easier for workers in the gig economy, like Uber drivers or TaskRabbit gofers, to claim they are
employees as opposed to
independent contractors.
Companies such
as Uber, Deliveroo, and TaskRabbit view those selling their services over the platform
as independent contractors who do not get to enjoy the benefits that proper
employees have.
These drivers could be reclassified
as employees of the company, rather than
independent contractors, if the lawsuit prevails.
With the help of 500
employees across two production facilities (the other is in North Carolina), Spinrite packages and sells more than 50 million balls of yarn a year under seven brands to big retailers like Michaels and Walmart,
as well
as smaller
independent shops.
Never has the U.S. government been more interested in whether a worker is properly classified
as an
independent contractor or W - 2
employee as right now.
Sometimes, Uber doesn't get its way,
as happened when the California Labor Commission's Office ruled that a driver who had sued the company be treated
as an
employee as opposed to
as an
independent contractor.
You can't treat some
as employees and others
as independent contractors.
There's no easy litmus test, though,
as to determine who is an
employee and who is an
independent contractor.
Their concern is that many businesses classify workers
as independent contractors when they're actually
employees.
Those that do will have have to do so
as independent contractors, not
as employees.
If you're unsure about the proper designation, be sure to review the IRS website,
as well
as the Department of Labor websites at the federal and state levels, particularly their materials on distinguishing
independent contractors from
employees, and check your designations with your accountant and / or labor lawyer.
The Fix: In early 2012, Spinak had «an epiphany» for how to improve the company's financials: Downsize to a core staff of four
employees to oversee the business structure, and then rely on a stable of
independent contractors to fill other roles that were needed less consistently, such
as account executives, Web designers, graphic designers, copywriters and videographers.
The cofounder and CEO of Thumbtack has kept a close eye on the rise of the «gig economy» — or on - demand, short - term, unskilled jobs where
employees are usually referred to
as independent contractors — and he doesn't see how it could provide people with meaningful sources of income long - term.
Meanwhile, in other cases such
as Domino's recent sexual harassment lawsuit, franchisees have been deemed completely
independent of franchisors» control in
employee matters.
Indeed,
independent contractors are twice
as likely
as employees to report that they do not have health insurance.
Luxe Valet, an on - demand parking service, will be making the switch from hiring
independent contractors to classifying its valets
as employees with benefits, according to the Wall Street Journal.
This is the latest development in the fight for drivers of ridesharing apps to be classified
as employees rather than
independent contractors.
Many startups, like Uber and Lyft, have brought on their drivers or workers
as independent contractors, or more generally known
as 1099
employees because of the 1099 form they fill out for the IRS.
However, the ruling to classify a San Francisco - based driver
as an
employee instead of an
independent contractor could potentially change how sharing - economy companies operate.
Some drivers of those companies argue they've been misclassified
as independent contractors and want full
employee status.
That could be costly for a business if workers it considered to be
independent contractors are later reclassified
as employees by the IRS.
However, many of the on - demand companies who have recently re-classified their
independent contractors
as employees — or who began doing business by only hiring so - called W2
employees — say blaming legal reasons is just a sideshow.
The valuation helped him and his partner pinpoint issues that might trouble an
independent outsider, such
as the company's reliance both on certain key
employees and on major customers.
The statement from attorney Shannon Liss - Riordan, says the settlement will allow Uber to continue recognizing those drivers
as independent contractors, not
employees, and pay $ 100 million.
Luxe Valet originally had its workers
as W - 2
employees, but switched early on to
independent contractors or «1099s»
as they are referred to in the industry because of the flexibility it offered the workers.
Certain other entertainment expenses are also 100 percent deductible if they are taxable
as compensation to the
employee or
independent contractor, or if they are reimbursed expenses.
For example, Instacart — an app - based grocery delivery service — announced in June 2015 that it would start allowing its shoppers in some locations to choose to become part - time
employees instead of
independent contractors and later began hiring new shoppers
as employees.
For example, in California, certain types of delivery drivers, salespeople, and construction workers are designated
as statutory
employees, regardless of their classification
as an
employee or
independent contractor and are therefore eligible for unemployment insurance.