Employers Cannot Call Employees Independent Contractors

In Washington, the Courts look beyond the classification a boss gives to a worker to decide whether the person working for them was an employee or an independent contractor.  The Court's inquiry can be distilled to whether the boss controlled, or had the right to control, the worker’s work.

The Courts consider all the evidence present, including whether the employee and boss agreed to a certain level of control, whether the employee was doing the same kind of work the boss was in business for, and whether most other bosses would hire an employee or an independent contractor to do the job the worker was brought on to do, whether the employee brought their own tools or equipment to do the work, and whether the relationship looked to the outside world like an employee-employer relationship.

Not all the factors need to be present for the Courts to decide whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor.  But the decision can be important.  Independent contractors must pay their own FICA withholding (social security and Medicare tax) and are not eligible for employer-paid health care.  On the other hand, independent contractors can deduct business expenses from their income at tax time.  Either way, it is an important difference that needs to be right.