From NYBIZ — Louis Pashman and Joseph Goldman offer five New Years resolutions for business owners including discussing business succession planing, board of directors, residential mortgages, estate and gift tax planning and, of course, the classification of workers as employees or independent contractors. They write:
“Worker Misclassification. Despite the widespread use of independent contractors and written agreements making clear that those providing the service are independent contractors, not employees, an increasing number of companies face liability for claims that they have misclassified those workers in violation of state and federal laws. While the financial incentives for companies to classify them as independent contractors remain strong, challenges to the classification of workers are on the rise and the liability for misclassification can be substantial. From the government’s point of view, employers that misclassify employees as contractors fail to withhold taxes and other deductions and also fail to pay the employer’s share of the Social Security contribution. If they are employees and not contractors, they are entitled to be paid overtime for work in excess of 40 hours per week and may also be entitled to participate in certain of the employer’s employee benefit programs….”
Read the full story at New Year’s resolutions for your business
