Misclassification of an Employee as an Independent Contractor

Employees are commonly misclassifed by employers as independent contractors. If you receive payments from the company on a Form 1099, you are considered an independent contractor by the company, but you may actually be an employee according to the law.  The law (both federal and state) looks beyond the title the company gives you or how you are paid and looks at the reality of the employment situation.  The law looks at first at whether the employer controls the means and manner of the work.  There are numerous other elements that courts will look at to determine whether the independent contractor is actually an employee.

Our firm meets with many indvididuals who have been denied overtime, health benefits, and 401(k) plans by the employer because they are classified as an independent contractor.  The reality under the law is that an “independent” contractor is an employee if they are controlled by the company or sufficiently integrated into the workplace.

Integrration into the workplace is demonstrated by showing that the individual's time and income is received by one company and that company controls how the work is performed.  If this is the case, the individual will be entitled to the benefits and privileges that employees receive.  For example, the misclassified "independent contractor" is owed overtime, medical benefits, 401(k) or pension, and other benefits.

If you believe that you have been incorrectly classified as an independent contractor, you may have claim against the company based upon the applicable federal and state wage and hour laws.  You should feel free to call our firm, Castronovo & McKinney, LLC, at (973) 920-7888 for a free consultation or visit our website www.law-cm.com for more information.