From Nevada Business —
How do independent contractors fit into the employer/employee relationship? What are some guidelines for employers?
Independent contractor status relieves the employer of a lot of responsibility with relation to laws and regulations governing the workplace. To insure that a person is an independent contractor there are strict guidelines on how to initially set up the contract and then how to treat the person as an independent contractor so the relationship won’t be challenged as an employer/employee relationship. – Campbell
The safest course of conduct is to limit the behavioral and economic control a business has over an independent contractor. Employers should be aware that while federal standards for determining independent contractor status are relatively uniform across the country, they vary between agencies. However, states, and different agencies within states, apply their own standards. – Hall
This question explains the problem and misconceptions of when and how to use independent contractors. Independent contractors should be largely independent and analyzed separately from your employment workforce. The consequences of misclassifying an independent contractor can be very costly, so employers should use caution when setting up an independent contractor relationship. – Prior
Don’t try to “fit” an employee into an independent contractor role unless you want trouble with governmental agencies. Independent contractors do not do the same work as the employer; they have their own business. Independent contractors may train your sales staff to sell better but the staff itself are employees. – Rezac
Employers should take great care in using independent contractors to complete work traditionally done by employees and carefully craft contracts to avoid creating an employee/employer relationship unintentionally. – Steffen
Read the full story at Employment Law: Attorneys Speak Out.
