Monthly Archives: February 2020

02.24.20
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Here’s a Simple Way to Self-Audit Your Company’s Independent Contractor Misclassification Risk

yawn

The most boring concert I ever went to was Genesis, in the Orange Bowl, Miami, 1987. The sound quality was terrible, and the band just didn’t seem that into it. My dad, who was there with me, was so bored he pulled out a newspaper. (Yes, that means he anticipated being this bored and brought a newspaper, but he was not a Genesis fan. He went for me, which is something a good dad just does.) [Also: Hi, Dad, I know you’re reading!]

Three years earlier, Phil Collins released Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now). The song did really well, but he did not play that song or any other solo songs at the 1987 concert. I know this because… wait for it…  the internet! Yes, the set list from that March 1, 1987 show is posted here.

Segue please? Ah yes, take a look at me now.

One of the simplest ways to check your exposure to independent contractor misclassification claims is to perform a self-audit. (Take a look at me now!)

Get a printout of all 1099s your company issued last year. Is the list mostly LLCs? Or individual names? Focus on the individuals’ names, especially the ones who were paid the most. What kind of services did these individuals perform? Did they do something similar to what your W-2 employees do? Did they work side-by-side with your W-2 employees?

Have they been providing services for years? Did they used to be W-2 employees of your company?

Do they have contracts with your company? Are those contracts any good? Are they specific enough, and do they memorialize the good facts (those that support independent contractor status)?

It’s labor-intensive to do a comprehensive self-evaluation of your risk of independent contractor misclassification claims, but for rough back-of-the-envelope estimating, this can be a pretty useful exercise.

I hope it helps.

That’s All.

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© 2020 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.

Need training on avoiding independent contractor misclassification claims? Hey, I do that!  

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02.17.20
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Lost Chicken, Very Friendly: 2020 IRS Tips on Independent Contractor Status Are Now Available

Years ago, I signed up for the Next Door app, thinking it might be helpful to hear about things going on in my neighborhood. Most of the posts I see are useless — Can anyone recommend a good restaurant? Is it gonna snow tonight? Does Solon have any good proctologists?

I was ready to unsubscribe but just hadn’t gotten around to it. But then, last week, I got the post that made it all worthwhile:

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I should have clicked “Thank,” because I really do want to thank D. from South Central Solon for that post. The best part, of course, is the armchair psychoanalysis of Lost Chicken’s personality: “Very friendly.” (Lost Chicken also scores high for empathy and teamwork.)

Also known for being “Very friendly” is the IRS. New for 2020 is the Employer’s Supplemental Tax Guide, also known by its catchier, more taxlike moniker, Publication 15-A. Please don’t take my copy. You can get your own here.

Publication 15-A includes a section on independent contractor misclassification. It reminds employers that the IRS uses a Right to Control Test, which evaluates factors related to behavioral control, financial control, and the type of relationship of the parties. The specific factors are listed.

To improve readership, the IRS offers several helpful hypotheticals to illustrate the Independent Contractor vs. Employee conundrum, using memorable characters such as Vera Elm, an electrician; and Helen Bach, an auto mechanic. (But I see Helen Bach as more of a resurrected doomsday cult leader. I’m going to assume that the person who wrote this hypothetical pulled one over on the supervisor who approved it. Well played, IRS writer. Well played.)

Publication 15-A provides other helpful tips for employers at tax time. Get yours now, while supplies last. I’m going to offer a few extra copies on the Next Door app.

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© 2020 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.

Need training on avoiding independent contractor misclassification claims? Hey, I do that!  

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02.10.20
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If I Told You Once, I Told You 55,000 Times! These NYC Employment Laws Now Apply to Contractors

NYCHRL independent contractors 8-107(23)A Twinsburg, Ohio man received a statement in the mail for his daughter’s student loan. And then another. And another. And another. The lender sent him 55,000 identical letters filling 79 bins at the post office.

Even better, all of the statements were wrong. They provided an incorrect payment amount.

A recent change to New York City’s Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) doesn’t need to be explained 55,000 times. But it does need to be explained once. Correctly.

Effective January 11, 2020, the protections under the NYCHRL now apply to independent contractors, including freelancers. That means, under NYC law:

  • It is now unlawful to discriminate, harass, or retaliate against an independent contractor, based on any protected class;
  • Businesses must provide reasonable accommodations, including for needs related to pregnancy, lactation, religious observances, sexual offenses, or stalking;
  • Businesses must engage in a “cooperative dialogue” with any contractor seeking an accommodation and must provide a written determination of any accommodation that was granted or denied;
  • Businesses must follow the Fair Chance Act requirements before taking any adverse action based on the results of a criminal background check, including providing a written Artcile 23-A analysis;
  • Businesses cannot inquire about salary history;
  • Businesses cannot perform a credit check (maybe; this is unclear); and
  • Businesses may need to provide sexual harassment training to contractors, depending on the number of hours worked.

For those keeping score at home, the change is to Section 8-107(23) of the NYCHRL. This one little sentence does all the work: “The protections of this chapter relating to employees apply to interns, freelancers and independent contractors.” Boom!

The law applies to businesses in New York City that had four or more workers, including independent contractors, at any time in the previous 12 months.

The law does not apply to wage and hour issues like minimum wage and overtime payments, and the law does not change the test for determining whether someone is an independent contractor or an employee.

The Commission has published some additional guidance on how this will work, especially the sexual harassment training part. You can read it online. Thankfully, the Commission didn’t send it 55,000 times to every business in the mail.

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© 2020 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.

Need training on avoiding independent contractor misclassification claims? Hey, I do that!  

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02.03.20
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Bring Forth the Tiger-Dogs! Here’s a Quick Status Check on the Challenges to California’s New Independent Contractor Law

Tiger independent contractor dynamex california

Not an actual tiger. Or a dog.

When outside forces pose a threat to people’s livelihood, people will go to great lengths to fight back.

For example, when monkeys began ravaging the crops of a farmer in Karnataka, India, the imaginitive farmer painted his dog to look like a tiger, to scare away the pesky invaders. [Photo here.]

Business owners in California are taking more conventional measures to fight back againt the tyranny of Assembly Bill 5, the new California law that seeks to reclassify many of the state’s independent contractors as employee. Here’s a quick summary of the resistance:

  • Owner-operator truckers claim the new California law cannot be applied to them because of a federal law (FAAAA) that prohibits states from enacting their own laws that affect the “price, route, or service of any motor carrier with respect to the transportation of property.” They won a preliminary injunction last month, temporarily preventing the law from applying to them.
  • Freelance writers and photographers are challenging the law too. The law has an exception for freelancers, but the exemption goes away if freelancers submit 35 or more pieces to a single publication. In other words, they’re independent contractors for submissions #1 through #34, but they instantly become employees with submission #35. They argue that the exemption is arbitrary and violates their First Amendment and equal protection Rights.
  • Rideshare and food delivery apps filed their own lawsuit, alleging that the exemptions are arbitrary and violate their equal protection and due process rights.
  • Five gig economy app companies have contributed $110 million to a ballot measure that will be voted upon in the November 2020 election if the measure collects 625,000 signatures. The law would exempt app-based gig economy drivers from the new test if the companies provide workers with specific levels of pay, benefits, and rights, which are defined in the proposal.
  • Republican lawmakers have proposed a constitutional amendment (A.C.A. 19) called the “Right to Earn a Living Act,” which would overturn Assembly Bill 5 and enshrine in California law “the right to pursue a chosen business or profession free from arbitrary or excessive government interference.” The amendment would reinstate California’s S.G. Borello balancing test for determining whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.

Meanwhile, the California Supreme Court is considering whether the 2018 Dynamex decision, which first imposed the ABC Test for wage and hour claims, applies retroactively. If it does, then businesses can be liable for failing to comply with a test that did not yet exist. Really.

That’s a lot of action, and we’ll continue to watch for new developments. Meanwhile, California businesses that use independent contractors should tread carefully, follow the status of legal challenges, and paint their dogs to look like tigers — just in case that turns out to be effective.

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© 2020 Todd Lebowitz, posted on WhoIsMyEmployee.com, Exploring Issues of Independent Contractor Misclassification and Joint Employment. All rights reserved.

Need training on avoiding independent contractor misclassification claims? Hey, I do that!  

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