You did not get into business to spend all your time pouring over constantly changing regulations, sweating over what a court case means for your organization or puzzling through seemingly conflicting laws. Fortunately, we did.
We have in-house experts who take the worry out of compliance, allowing you to focus on your job. With a robust mix of practical and legal experience, our Compliance and Workplace Solutions team helps our clients recognize risks they may not have known they were facing, while ensuring that problems don’t turn into crises. If you are already in the midst of a crisis, we have a bench of experts who will partner with you to help achieve the best resolution.
We are good at solving problems because we know what is critical, and, what is not. Having the proper perspective is key. Whether it is safety, health management, benefit plans, liability exposures or employment laws, we have knowledge and experience that is second to none.
Not only do we help you solve your problems, we also make sure we share our knowledge and resources with you so you have the tools and information necessary to move forward with confidence.
Knowing that life’s only two certainties are death and taxes, let’s turn our attention to how the IRS determines independent contractor status. Previously, the IRS used to apply a 20-factor test to determine whether or not an individual could be classified as an independent contractor. A number of years ago they moved to what they call a “common-law” test that focuses on the degree of control the business exercises in achieving its purposes versus the degree of independence the worker has to actually perform the tasks themselves. As described in IRS Publication 15-A, the IRS will closely examine each of the following three areas: “behavioral control, financial control, and the type of relationship of the parties.” Let’s take a look at each.
The Federal Department of Labor (DOL) and its related state agencies are charged with making sure that employees are given the modern-day equivalent of an honest day’s pay for an honest day’s work. Employers who fail to do so can be subject to back-pay claims, penalties and attorneys’ fees.