Independent Contractors or Employees: An Important Question

One of the most significant landmarks of growth for a small business is the decision to hire additional personnel, whether on a long-term basis or only for a one-time project. This raises the question of whether you should hire a person as an independent contractor or an employee. This is an important issue, as there are some significant legal differences between your obligations in each situation.

Let the Des Moines business lawyers of LaMarca & Landry, P.C. help you to fully understand the implications and limitations of establishing employer-employee relationships or utilizing contract hires. Contact us at 877-327-2600 to speak with a skilled and experienced attorney about the particular needs of your business.

Factors for Consideration

Some of the factors that should be used to determine whether an individual should be hired as an employee or a contractor include:

• The degree of control over schedule and work methods that the hire is granted
• The financial structure of an agreement, including which party provides tools and other infrastructure necessary to accomplish tasks in addition to the nature of payment
• Whether contractually specified benefits such as paid time off are present, as well as the term of the expected employment period

Sometimes businesses attempt to hire workers as independent contractors because of tax and other benefits, only to treat them instead as if they were employees. This practice is definitively against the law and can result in severe civil fines and penalties. To make sure you avoid common legal errors and pitfalls, discuss your situation with a Des Moines business attorney before making permanent choices about the future of your business.

Contact Us

As a basic rule of thumb, an independent contractor must obviously be functioning independently as his or her own going business concern. But rules of thumb do not make for compelling legal arguments. Contact the Des Moines business lawyers of LaMarca & Landry, P.C., at 877-327-2600 to seek the legal counsel necessary to keep you from making costly mistakes.