You know deep down you’re not really going to run a triathlon or learn Mandarin in 2018, so how about a New Year’s Resolution that’s more realistic? Here are 5 things businesses can do to limit their risks of an independent contractor misclassification finding:

1. Review and edit contracts. Independent Contractor Agreements should be customized for the specific retention, highlighting actual facts that would be helpful in opposing a challenge to independent contractor status.
2. Review and modify facts. Almost every independent contractor relationship can be strengthened by finding ways you can give up control or memorialize ways that you do not ever intent to exercise control. Does it really matter what times of the day your contractor works? If you set hours and don’t need to, change that fact. Then memorialize it in the contract.
3. Use a Vendor Qualification Questionnaire. Qualify your contractors before retaining them. Make them represent to you that they are really in business for themselves, have other clients, are not economically dependent on getting work from you, etc. These representations can be useful if the contractor — or the government — ever challenges the contractor’s classification by claiming the relationship is really employment.
4. Assign a gatekeeper. You may have contractors that you don’t even know about because managers in parts of the business have retained outside help rather than ask permission to hire new employees. Create a process that requires managers to obtain permission from a particular person before retaining any outside labor.
5. Be proactive. Examine the facts and circumstances of your independent contractor relationships now. Know where you stand on the risk scale. Then assess how you can make changes to better protect your business against a claim of independent contractor misclassification. There are almost always steps that can be taken proactively to limit your risks. Be ready.

These are steps every business can take either internally, or with a little outside help. You’ve probably heard Ben Franklin’s axiom, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Ol’ Ben was giving fire safety advice to his fellow Philadelphians in 1736, but the advice holds true as well when evaluating independent contractor relationships in 2018. Take steps now to reduce risks, and place your business in a better position to extinguish any claims of misclassification.

© 2017 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.