It is important that businesses classifying workers as independent contractors ensure they are properly classified. Whether workers are independent contractors can have important implications for various federal and state statutes. For example, if a worker is an independent contractor, the business does not have to pay them overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act. Many federal and state discrimination statutes cover only employers with a certain minimum number of employees. Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1965 (Title VII) and the Florida Civil Rights Act, for example, only cover employers with fifteen or more employees. Independent contractors are not counted for this purpose. This could exclude some small businesses that work with independent contractors outside the purview of Title VII. But how does one determine whether a worker is an independent contractor. The Miami business litigation attorneys of the Mavrick Law Firm represent businesses and their owners in breach of contract litigation and related claims of fraud, non-compete agreement litigation, trade secret litigation, trademark infringement litigation, employment litigation, and other legal disputes in federal and state courts and in arbitration.
A worker is not an independent contractor simply because a business labeled them as such. The determination requires an in-depth legal analysis of the various aspects of the worker’s actual duties and relationship with the business. The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals established the following factors to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor under Title VII:
- the kind of occupation, with reference to whether the work usually is done under the direction of a supervisor or is done by a specialist without supervision;
The post MIAMI BUSINESS LITIGATION: EMPLOYEES VS INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS appeared first on Florida Business Litigation Lawyer Blog.