Practice Areas

• Defective Drugs
• Automobile Accidents
• Workers' Compensation
• Disability Insurance - ERISA
• Social Security Disability
• Veterans Disability
• Nursing Home Neglect
• Medical Malpractice & Negligence
• Accident Attorney
• Dog Bites & Animal Attacks
• Insurance Disputes

Blog

News

Library

Independent Contractors Are Not Entitled To Workers' Compensation Benefits

The workers’ compensation law does not apply to an independent contractor. Employers sometimes seek to avoid their responsibility to their employees for workers’ compensation benefits by calling them independent contractors.

An independent contractor is one who exercises independent employment and contracts to do a piece of work according to his own judgment and method, without being subject to the person who hires him except as to the results of his or her work.

The test is whether the party for whom the work is being done has the right to control the worker with respect to the manner or method of doing the work, as distinguished from the right merely to require certain definite results conforming to the contract. If the employer has the right to control, it is immaterial whether he actually exercises it.

The issue of whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is one which is greatly abused by employers. It is very common for an employer to seek to have all of his employees determined to be an independent contractor so as to avoid the employer’s liability under the workers’ compensation act. Employers use various methods to falsely seek to impose independent contractor status upon their employees. One method is to stamp a statement on the back of each check made to the worker so that the worker, upon endorsing the check, acknowledges that he is indeed an independent contractor.

Another reason employers seek to have their employees classified as an independent contractor is to seek to avoid liability to the state and federal government for withholding and social security taxes. Employers do not deduct these taxes from people they claim to be independent contractors but instead send a Form 1099 to the taxing authorities.

The issue of whether a person is an independent contractor is very case specific and sometimes it is not possible to predict in advance how the industrial commissions will rule on this issue. That is why it is important for the injured employee, at the outset, to employ an experienced workers’ compensation attorney.

Free Case Review