With the Flexible Workforce acquisition, Openforce is able to offer clients an even larger set of solutions, insurance resources, and technologies to recruit, onboard, and retain
independent contractors.
"If someone is unsure if an employee is an
independent contractor or not, they should consult their insurance agent to make sure they have the proper coverages."
Going forward, insurance industry executives should be aware that courts will weigh certain factors in the ERISA test for employee versus
independent contractor more heavily than others.
As such, even though there were some factors that leaned in favor of an
independent contractor relationship, the court held that RFI could still be held vicariously liable for the crash.
Remember, for a tenable
independent contractor relationship, the workers must be, for the most part, economically independent.
Following a 12-day trial in April 2017, a federal advisory jury in United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio concluded that Madison, Wisconsin-based American Family Insurance Group had misclassified thousands of sales agents as
independent contractors.
According to IRS regulations its important that business owners correctly determine whether the individuals providing services are employees or
independent contractors.
* The bracketed language contained in the last two paragraphs is only to be used when there is a claim of
independent contractor status.
"Although the prongs of the
independent contractor statute are conjunctive, they operate independently of one another.
Example: A hires B for $40,000, treating B as an
independent contractor. The IRS determines that A should have treated B as an employee.
Until 2011, FedEx contracted directly with
independent contractors, allowing the Memphis, Tenn.-based company to save on taxes, fringe benefits, health care costs, pensions and other workers' costs, the report stated.
The Massachusetts statute was the first to utilize a three prong test for
independent contractor status.