Federal Government to Crack Down on Misclassified "Independent Contractors?"
It's always risky to misclassify someone who should be an employee as an "independent contractor," but President Obama's 2011 budget proposal will increase the risks for employers. According to this budget summary from the U.S. Department of Labor, the misclassification of employees as contractors is estimated to cost the Treasury Department over $7 billion in lost payroll tax revenue over the next ten years. To help make up for this shortfall, the proposed budget includes funds earmarked for a "joint proposal" between the DOL and the Treasury Department to eliminate legal incentives for such misclassification, and an additional $25 million to target misclassification with 100 additional enforcement personnel and competitive grants to boost states’ incentives and capacity to address this issue.
If this budget provision goes into effect, employers will need to be particularly careful not to misclassify employees as contractors. Of course, it's already a risky proposition to misclassify employees as contractors. For example, as we reported back in 2008, FedEx was on the wrong end of a $14 million award after a California court concluded that the shipping giant misclassified hundreds of drivers as contractors. Lawsuits in this area are common, ranging from individuals seeking unpaid wages and overtime to multi-million dollar class actions. Federal and state governments are also known to go after employers for unpaid payroll taxes and associated penalties.
Are you concerned that your independent contractor might actually be a misclassified employee? The IRS has published this handy information on how to determine whether the employee is correctly classified. There is even an IRS form (Form SS-8) that you can file to seek the Service's help in determining if your employee is correctly classified. Of course, if you believe that you have misclassified employees working as contractors, it might be a good time to contact your labor and employment attorney.
9th Circuit: Independent Contractor Can Assert Disability Claim Under Rehabilitation Act
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled recently that an independent contractor may assert a disability claim against an employer under the Rehabilitation Act. Click the link to read the opinion on Fleming v. Yuma Regional Medical Center.
The Rehabilitation Act prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in programs conducted by Federal agencies, in programs receiving Federal financial assistance, in Federal employment, and in the employment practices of Federal contractors. The standards for determining employment discrimination under the Rehabilitation Act are the same as those used in Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
In Fleming, an anesthesiologist who worked as an independent contractor sued the medical center at which he worked, alleging a discriminatory constructive discharge. The trial court dismissed the case on the basis that Fleming was an independent contractor and that the Rehabilitation Act applied only to employee-employer relationships. The Ninth Circuit reversed, holding that the Rehabilitation Act provides a cause of action to any individual subjected to disability discrimination by any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance. While the Rehabilitation Act adopts the standards that are applied under the ADA, it does not adopt the ADA's limitation to the employee-employer relationship.
Independent contractors are not considered "employees" for purposes of most employment discrimination laws, and many employers hire independent contractors to avoid potential liability under such laws. Fleming shows that, at least for employers covered by the Rehabilitation Act, independent contractors may still find ways to seek the protections of those laws despite their "non-employee" status. In addition, many employers incur significant tax and other liabilities by misclassifying people as "independent contractors" when they really should be treated as employees. For more information, the Internal Revenue Service offers this guidance for determining whether someone is or is not correctly classified as an independent contractor.
Exotic Dancers Are Employees, Not Independent Contractors
Every now and then we need a reminder to illustrate the dangers of misclassifying employees as "independent contractors." Last week, the Montana Supreme Court provided such a reminder, ruling that exotic dancers were employees, not independent contractors. Click here to read the opinion in Smith v. TYAD Inc. d/b/a Playground Lounge & Casino.
In Playground, the employer required each dancer to sign a contract acknowledging that she would be considered an “independent contractor" who would pay a "stage fee" to “rent” the stage and a dressing room for every night she worked. In return, each dancer would retain all tips and dance fees. According to the Montana Supreme Court, not only were the dancers actually employees entitled to payment of minimum wage for all hours worked, but the "stage fees" were illegal kickbacks. It held the dancers were entitled to payment of hourly wages, overtime, repayment of the "stage fees" and penalties.
Does Playground have any lessons for the 99.99% of employers that don't employ exotic dancers? Absolutely: all employers should be careful when classifying anyone as an "independent contractor." Whether an individual is properly classified as an employee or an independent contractor is a complex question of both state and federal law. Besides being held liable for back pay and overtime, employers who misclassify employees can be charged with unpaid wage withholdings and unemployment insurance premiums. Worse yet, employers who don't pay workers' compensation insurance on misclassified employees can find themselves in a world of hurt if one of those employees sustains an on-the-job injury. (The Playground Lounge should be thankful none of its dancers fell off the stage.) For more information on the criteria courts and agencies use, check out this page on the IRS' Independent Contractor Status Test.
IRS, DOL Publish New Info on COBRA Subsidy
Today the Department of Labor expanded its FAQs on the COBRA subsidies included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Click here to read the DOL's new COBRA FAQs.
Wondering what the tax implications of the subsidy are, or whether the person asking for the subisidy is truly eligible? Click here to read the IRS's Premium Assistance for COBRA Benefits. If that doesn't answer your tax questions, click here to visit the IRS's ARRA page.
As a reminder, employers can click here to download the new model COBRA notices.
Sick to death of COBRA and need to relieve the stress it's caused? Click here to visit Orisinal - a site full of calming, zen-like computer games.
And finally, click here to visit the World of Work's complete COBRA coverage.
New W-4 Forms Available; No New Form I-9 Yet...
New year, new forms: The Internal Revenue Service has released new W-4 Forms for 2009, and we have them for you right here! Just click below to download:
A 2009 Spanish version is pending approval, and we'll post it when it is available.
As previously reported here at the World of Work, employers will be required to adopt the new Form I-9 (Verification of Employment Eligibility) by February 2, 2009. We'd love to give you a link to download it, but guess what: it's not available yet. We'll keep watching and post it here as soon as it's released.
New Federal Legislation Would Penalize Employers' Use of "Independent Contractors"
The U.S. Congress is currently considering legislation that would impose significant penalties on employers who improperly classify employees as "independent contractors" to avoid paying for benefits.
The Employee Misclassification Prevention Act (S. 3648) was introduced in the Senate on September 29, and is sponsored by Senators Edward M. Kennedy (D-Mass.), Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.). Features of the bill include:
- Amending the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) to prohibit the misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor, providing for liquidated damages and civil penalties of up to $10,000.
- Requiring employers to keep records on and notify workers of their employment or independent contractor classification and their right to challenge that classification.
- Requiring state unemployment insurance agencies to audit employers who misclassify employees.
- Allowing the Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service to share information on cases where employers misclassify workers.
- Requiring the Department of Labor to perform targeted audits focusing on employers in industries that frequently misclassify employees.
- Directing the Department of Labor to establish a Web site that summarizes the rights of employees under the FLSA and other federal laws.
A companion bill, H.R. 6111, was introduced in the House in May. Don't expect this bill to become law as long as President Bush is in the White House, but with a likely democratic majority in Congress and a new President, passage of the bill appears very likely. Employers should be aware of the existing risks of incorrectly classifying employees as "independent contractors," including claims for unpaid overtime, minimum wage claims, benefits claims, workers' compensation liability, and tax penalties.
