Are You an Independent Contractor, Really?

Employers enjoy the benefits of workers compensation laws when a catastrophic injury occurs.  The reason is that the remedies afforded to the mangled or deceased injured worker are much lower than they would be in a civil [tort] case. Despite the employers’ benefit of “exclusive remedy” (a fancy phrase for “your only recovery for injuries due to employment are through the Workers Compensation system”), they continue to try and avoid purchasing workers compensation insurance for employees.  The primary way employers do this is by misclassifying employees as “independent contractors”.  New laws about independent contractors have been passed recently (AB 5 became law January 1, 2020). So, what about all of the misclassified injured workers who have been told “you are on your own” after a workplace tragedy?

The good news is, that regardless if whether or not you are classified as an “independent contractor” for tax and payment purposes, under California Law you are presumed to be an employee and not an independent contractor for the purposes of workers compensation benefits. That means the employer has to prove you are not an employee, not the other way around.

Longstanding case law has stated, time after time, that if a worker is controlled by a supervisor like an employee, then they are an employee. Essentially, independent contractors who lack independence due to set work hours, non-negotiable wages, can be hired/fired at will, and have other arraignments similar to traditional employer/employee relationship, they are not independent contractors at all, they are employees and they are entitled to workers compensation benefits.

If you pay taxes as an independent contractor but your supervisor tells you what to do and how to do it, you are an employee when it comes to workers compensation benefits. If you have suffered a workplace injury and believe this article applies to you, call us to discuss your right to benefits.