Many information technology consultants, design specialists, development experts, and others who develop or provide intellectual property-related services for others do so as an independent contractor. In these situations, both clients and contractors must carefully structure the contracting relationship to ensure that the contractor is not classified as an employee under state and federal laws.
To address this issue, my colleagues Richard Reibstein, Lisa Petkun and Andrew Rudolph have launched the Independent Contractor Compliance blog, which is dedicated to the following objectives:
- Corporate compliance with federal and state laws permitting the use of independent contractors.
- Collection and maintenance of legal resources on the subject of independent contractors.
According to the authors of the blog:
Activity and interest in this area has accelerated since 2006, when the IRS revamped its long-standing “20-factor” test for determining whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor. In 2008, several state legislatures and the federal government began to consider legislation to address the issue of independent contractor misclassification; the IRS made misclassification a “questionable employment tax practice” (QETP); and several states organized task forces to coordinate information among state employment and revenue departments to toughen enforcement of existing laws prohibiting misclassification of workers
For more information, visit the Independent Contractor Compliance blog at www.independentcontractorcompliance.com.
IP Spotlight 