However, the differences between employees and independent contractors are not always clear. This largely depends on the degree of control of the employer and the degree of independence of the employee. Anti-discrimination protections could apply to independent contractors if the nature of the employment relationship suggests that the person was really an employee, the EEOC said. Different countries have taken different paths to protect the self-employed. Independent contractors are protected on the same basis as employees in New York and Maryland. Both states extend the same protection under their anti-discrimination laws to independent contractors as to employees, and effectively treat independent contractors as employees for the purposes of the state`s anti-discrimination law. In Maryland, the definition of “employee” under the Anti-Discrimination Act explicitly includes a person acting as an independent contractor for an employer. New York achieves a similar result by prohibiting unlawful discrimination against “non-employees,” including independent contractors, which, according to the guidelines, include “any discrimination.” It`s worth noting that New York recently amended its law to remove the minimum employer size requirement, meaning anti-discrimination protections could also apply to contractors who work with companies with no (or very few) employees. If an independent contractor is involved, the IRS does not have the power to take action against the employer, but the IRS does have the power to verify the independent contractor`s tax payments. Entrepreneurs who earn more than a certain amount also have to pay a “self-employment tax,” which covers their share of social security taxes. Unrecorded expenses: Independent contractors are more likely to have unpaid expenses than employees. Ongoing fixed costs, which are incurred regardless of whether work is in progress or not, are particularly important.
However, employees may also incur unreasonable costs related to the services they provide to their business. Similarly, New Jersey`s Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits any person from discriminating against another person in their business or by entering into contracts. However, this provision is intended to protect independent contractors from discriminatory commercial refusals, but generally not from discrimination during the continued performance of a contract. For example, in New Jersey, this legal approach allows independent contractors to have stricter protections against discrimination than employees. Researcher Lawrence Katz of Harvard University and the late Alan B. Krueger of Princeton University released a report in 2018 that estimated that 9.6 percent of U.S. workers in 2015 were independent contractors, for a total of 15 million workers. They said workers who provide services through online intermediaries such as Uber or Task Rabbit accounted for 0.5% of all workers in 2015. Nevertheless, the conflict exposes some of the issues that people should think about when working as independent contractors or in other alternative employment arrangements. 19. I am currently treated as an employee, but I think I should be considered an independent contractor.
What must I do? If passed, it would allow independent contractors to sue employers for discrimination based on race, sex, religion, color, national origin, age, disability and genetic inheritance, and wage theft. While some States offer limited protection to all independent contractors, at least two States offer full protection only to certain independent contractors. Pennsylvania`s Anti-Discrimination Act explicitly prohibits discrimination against independent contractors, provides the same protection for covered independent contractors as insured workers, and prohibits the same forms of discrimination. However, the law narrowly defines independent contractors to include only those workers who are subject to state licensing laws or who are included in the Fair Housing Act (which covers those whose activity is the sale or rental of apartments or the financing of residential real estate transactions). Independent contractors who do not fall within this definition are excluded from clear legal protection. About 14 percent of U.S. workers, or 21 million people, described themselves as independent contractors or work on contingent or temporary assignments, such as on-call or temporary workers, or in other alternative jobs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a survey released in June. An employee can file a private lawsuit for retroactive payment and an equal amount in lump sum damages plus attorneys` fees and court costs. An employee may not bring an action if he has been reimbursed under the supervision of the Service des heures de salaire or if the Minister of Labour has already filed an application for reimbursement of wages. In addition, Michigan courts have ruled that no employee can sue under the state`s anti-discrimination law, but only if the hiring provider controls a duration, condition, or privilege of their employment or potential employment. This raises questions that merit further examination of the relationship between this survey analysis and classification and joint employment issues.
In Washington state, the state Supreme Court ruled that parts of the state`s anti-discrimination law are broad enough to cover contractors. The Act contains a provision establishing a right to non-discrimination, which includes not only the right not to be discriminated against in the workplace, but also the prohibition of discrimination in other areas such as public housing and real estate transactions. Although this provision does not explicitly mention independent contractual relationships, the Washington State Supreme Court has held that, since the protection of this law is not limited to discrimination in employment, it protects independent contractors from discrimination based on the protected classes listed in this provision (in particular, gender, race, creed, national origin or disability). .