Making It Legal:

In light of our just-celebrated Labor Day, I thought I’d share a little something about the dangerous games that small business owners play when, in essence, they hire employees and pay them as independent contractors.   

From Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, 1594: 

What’s in a name? that which we call a rose

By any other name would smell as sweet . . . . 

Call the person whatever you like, but if you control much of what they do, how they do it, when they do it, and with what tools they do it, you’ve probably just hired an employee.  And the penalties that befall a company sanctioned for not paying in the appropriate employment taxes are nasty.  

As Rush Nigut points out in his post, “Employees vs. Independent Contractors,� many businesses treat employees as an independent contractors for two main reasons: (1) they want to save money on taxes, red tape and benefit coverage; and (2) they don’t fully understand the distinction between employees and independent contractors.  This is not an area to play fast and loose with the law.  It’s like gambling in Vegas; the house is stacked against you.  As confident as you think you may be about the situation, it’s wise to confirm your choice with an employment or other business attorney. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 4th, 2007 at 12:32 pm and is filed under Employees. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

One Response to “An Independent Contractor By Any Other Name . . . .”

1. Emily Says:
   March 24th, 2009 at 10:44 am

   This advice is really going to help, thanks.

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