How did you perform during the test? Keep in mind that your score is only an approximate indicator of how likely a judge or jury will determine that you will be wrongly classified as an independent contractor. However, if you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you should definitely consider speaking to a lawyer or an employment lawyer. Ask for a free and confidential consultation. You could owe thousands of dollars for an illegal misclassification. @JessicaLynn – you make a good point. While independent contractors don`t get the same benefits as employees, they can take many more deductions from their taxes. My boyfriend works as a mobile DJ and can deduct a lot of taxes. The article cites a 2016 study by economists that estimates that twelve and a half million people, or 8.4 percent of the U.S. workforce, are now considered independent entrepreneurs. Is the work you do part of your employer`s regular business? If your employer is a retailer and you make sales, or if your employer is a restaurant and you cook or serve, then your job is part of the employer`s regular business and you are probably an employee, not an independent contractor. On the other hand, if you only paint the outside of the restaurant or install and maintain computers and the Internet for the retail store, your work is not relevant to the employer`s usual activities and you can be an independent contractor.

Independent contractors do not have these restrictions. If they plan accordingly, they can choose their vacation days as they wish. They are free to take as much time as they need between clients or projects if they choose to do so. I am also an independent contractor. I love my job, especially the flexibility. It`s certainly less stressful than a nine-to-five job. A recent and very striking example of the debate over misclassification of employees and independent contractors is uber, the San Francisco-based ride-hailing service. Uber has always claimed that its drivers are independent contractors because they drive their own cars, set their own hours, and are not supervised at work.

@anon821 – As someone else said, the rights of casual workers are set by the federal government (at least in the United States). If you`re curious about the exact standards, the IRS has several pages that explain what makes a real employee and an independent contractor. Yes, because testing if you are an independent contractor is quite complicated and depends on more than 10 different factors. If you have been wrongly classified as an independent contractor, you may be entitled to a high amount of penalties, in addition to the break bonuses and overtime owed to you. Please call us if you would like to discuss this in more detail at (213) 992-3299. But no matter what, don`t be too quick to give up your demands. Due to a California Supreme Court decision called Dynamex, few workers today would be considered independent contractors. If your boss is in the business of home cleaning and you are a home cleaner, you are likely to be considered an employee rather than an independent contractor under factor B of the Dynamex A-B-C text.

But of course, it would be better to consult a lawyer, because small details can completely change the legal answer. Feel free to call us at (213) 992-3299 to discuss. Does your employer provide you with equipment, tools and a workplace? If you`re a painter and your employer provides the paints and brushes, or if you`re a graphic designer and your employer provides you with a computer and a workplace, you`re probably an employee, not an independent contractor. Every year, millions of workers are falsely classified as independent contractors, illegally denying them a series of legal protections: minimum wage, overtime, meal breaks, rest breaks, mileage reimbursement, and other rights under state and federal labor laws. According to one report, the federal government estimates that it loses $3 billion to $4 billion a year in tax revenue and payroll tax revenues due to misclassification of workers. This represents only a small fraction of the real wages lost by hard-working workers who fall victim to this common form of wage theft. Because there are no state requirements in the United States, states must each establish appropriate regulations for paid leave in the state`s labor law. For this reason, employers should not only be aware, but also establish and follow a formal written policy for paid leave. Failure to formally establish fee-paying recreational policies may result in a violation of the state code and the policy may be legally unenforceable. If you suspect that you have been wrongly classified as an independent contractor, you may be entitled to damages. Please contact us for a free consultation.

One of our labour lawyers will be able to discuss your misclassification and discuss your options. Here`s the legal test to determine if you`re wrongly classified as an independent contractor: Have you recently become an independent contractor or self-employed? If so, you`ve probably experienced many of the benefits of such a type of work so far. Our CA labor lawyers will tell you what you need to know about California`s misclassification and the Independent Contractors Act. In addition, California courts apply different standards for determining whether or not an employee is an employee or an independent contractor for each case, depending on the subject matter of the decision. @ZipLine – I have to say that I agree with most of them. When independent contractors start getting the same benefits as regular employees, they`re not really independent contractors anymore, are they? Many people think that it is the companies that develop these rules, but it is the government that sets the standards. They have strict rules about what makes an employee and a contractor. Under the labor laws of the RSA and California, non-exempt employees should receive at least 1 and 1/2 times their hourly rate for overtime worked. .