Definition of an Independent Contractor
Posted By: Stirring the Pot With a Little Cilantro on 2009-05-15
In Reply to:
Defining the Independent Contractor
No consistent, uniform definition distinguishes an employee from an independent contractor. Some statutes contain their own definitions. The U.S. Supreme Court has held that when a statute contains the term employee but fails to define it adequately, there is a presumption that traditional agency-law criteria for identifying master-servant relationships apply (National Mutual Insurance Co. v. Darden, 503 U.S. 318, 112 S. Ct. 1344, 111 L. Ed. 2d 581 [1992]).
One comprehensive test that takes into account agency-law criteria and numerous other factors courts have created to define independent contractor status was developed by the Internal Revenue Service. Known collectively as the twenty-factor test, the enumerated criteria generally fall within three categories: control (whether the employer or the worker has control over the work performed), organization (whether the worker is integrated into the business), and economic realities (whether the worker directly benefits from his or her labor). The twenty factors serve only as a guideline. Each factor's degree of importance varies depending on the occupation and the facts involved in a particular case. Twenty-factor test [nl] 1.
A worker who is required to comply with instructions about when, where, and how he or she must work is usually an employee.
2.
If an employer trains a worker — requires an experienced employee to work with the worker, educates the worker through correspondence, requires the worker to attend meetings, or uses other methods — this normally indicates that the worker is an employee.
3.
If a worker's services are integrated into business operations, this tends to show that the worker is subject to direction and control and is thus an employee. This is the case particularly when a business's success or continuation depends to a large extent on the performance of certain services.
4.
If a worker's services must be rendered personally, there is a presumption that the employer is interested in the methods by which the services are accomplished as well as in the result, making the worker an employee.
5.
If an employer hires, supervises, and pays assistants for a worker, this indicates control over the worker on the job, making the worker an employee.
6.
A continuing relationship between a worker and an employer, even at irregular intervals, tends to show an employer-employee relationship.
7.
An employer who sets specific hours of work for a worker exhibits control over the worker, indicating that the worker is an employee.
8.
If a worker is working substantially full-time for an employer, the worker is presumably not free to do work for other employers and is therefore an employee.
9.
Work performed on an employer's premises suggests the employer's control over a worker, making the worker an employee. This is especially true when work could be done elsewhere. However, the mere fact that work is done off the employer's premises does not necessarily make the worker an independent contractor.
10.
If a worker is required to perform services in an order or sequence set by an employer, the employer has control over the worker that demonstrates an employer-employee relationship.
11.
A worker who is required to submit regular oral or written reports to an employer is likely an employee.
12.
Payment by the hour, week, or month tends to indicate that a worker is an employee; payment made by the job or on a straight commission points to an independent contractor.
13.
A worker is ordinarily an employee if an employer pays for the worker's business or travel expenses.
14.
An employer who furnishes a worker with significant tools, materials, or other equipment tends to show that the worker is an employee.
15.
A worker who significantly invests in facilities used to perform services and not typically maintained by employees (such as office space) is generally an independent contractor.
16.
A worker who can realize a profit or loss resulting from her or his services is generally an independent contractor.
17.
A worker who performs for more than one firm at a time is generally an independent contractor.
18.
If a worker makes his or her services available to the general public on a regular and consistent basis, that worker is generally an independent contractor.
19.
An employer's right to discharge a worker tends to show that the worker is an employee. An employee must obey an employer's instructions in order to stay employed; an independent contractor can be fired only if the work result fails to meet the agreed-upon specifications.
20.
If a worker has the right to terminate her or his relationship with an employer at any time without incurring liability, such as breach of contract, that worker is likely an employee.
See: Employment Law; Labor Law; Master and Servant.
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Independent contractor
I hope I'm on the right board here. Can someone tell me the perks of being an IC? Is it just that you can set your own hours? What does being an IC consist of? Do you pay all your own taxes, SocSec, etc? I've always been an employee and exploring new opportunities, but from what I see being an IC looks like a pain, with no benefits!! Thanks!
Independent Contractor..........nm
.
Independent Contractor
Can any of you IC's give me some info on what it is like to be an IC? I know you get paid by the line, but how many lines do you generally average a day/hour? Is there always a lot of work to keep you busy? Also, do you get to choose what hours you want to work instead of having set hours like you do as an employee? I just got hired by Terra Nova and would love any feedback on them as well. Thanks!
Independent Contractor
Thanks for the relys! If you don't mind me asking, which company do you work for? Is it a national company? It sounds like a great job!
Independent contractor
I need some help deciding on whether to take an independent contractor position. I was just offered 0.08/line being an independent contractor. Is this typical pay for an independent contractor position? I currently make that as an employee. How does the paying into Social Security work? Any feedback on employee position versus independent contractor position would be greatly appreciated.The good thing about this job is no set schedule. The paying taxes, getting own insurance, and paying into Social Security is the things that I am worried about. Any info would be greatly appreciated!
Independent contractor
They hired me as an independent contractor, and I was told that during my interview.
Are you an independent contractor?
Here's the link:
http://www.ebluewave.com/downloads/independent_contractors_20_questions.pdf
In the simplest of terms ... if you are looking for someone to hire you, then you're not independent contractor. However, if you see yourself as a one-person MTSO, and you conduct yourself in that fashion, then you are an IC.
I hope this helps at least one person.
I AM AN INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR
SEE WHERE IT SAYS IC????? I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT EMPLOYEE STATUS!
IC status (independent contractor) sm
is just like it sounds. You are contracting work independently from the company. You pay all your own taxes including the other half of your SS which is called self-employment tax. They cannot set your hours, but most places like to know an approximate time when you will be working. I was IC for MQ for years and then they went to SE status where they had a little more control and then this.
Also, because you are IC you get no benefits whatsoever. You are self-employed. So if benefits are what you need, this is not for you. But, if you need the flexibility it may work for you. It worked for me for years. Supported a family on it. It was much better than what they have now. In my case, I could actually pay my own insurance and disability insurance and still come out better. It just depends on the production you are able to do. If you have any more questions, feel free to e-mail me.
Independent contractor status
Am nervous about this status as I have never been an IC before, but am willing to try it, just don't want to be highly disappointed.
Employee versus Independent Contractor
http://jobsearchtech.about.com/od/laborlaws/l/aa121800.htm
I have read this article (you have to scroll down a little, but I have found it helpful in explaining some things regarding IC vs Employee. Just wanted to share for anyone who is interested. 
Independent contractor or employee status
Me again. Does Transcription Relief hire independent contractors, or are you considered an employee?
Does that $0.9/65 Independent Contractor job come with food stamps?/sm
Does that $0.9/65 Independent Contractor job come with food stamps?
INDEPENDANT CONTRACTOR |
|
EXPENSES |
$0.09/65 |
|
$0.11/65 |
lines/8 hr day/40 hr wk |
1200 |
|
1200 |
$/day |
|
$108.00 |
|
$132.00 |
$/wk |
|
$540.00 |
|
$660.00 |
$/yr |
|
$28,080.00 |
|
$34,320.00 |
Health Ins @ 60+ |
$12,000.00 |
$16,080.00 |
|
$22,320.00 |
2 wk off/pd vac/PDO |
$1,080.00 |
$15,000.00 |
|
$21,240.00 |
op costs |
$1,200.00 |
$13,800.00 |
|
$20,040.00 |
minus taxes |
$2,760.00 |
$2,760.00 |
|
$4,008.00 |
|
$17,040.00 |
$11,040.00 |
NET |
$16,032.00 |
Who hires for TRUE independent contractor sm
positions.. Ones where they give you a set amount of lines and you set your own hours just as long as you get the transcription done within that period of time.
Independent contractor versus employee?
Can someone please tell me the difference between independent contractor and employee status? I was employed for a company about 6 years ago where I was an independent contractor and they didnt take out federal taxes. I then went to a company as an employee status where they did take out federal taxes out of my check? As an independent contractor, do they all not take out federal taxes and can you request that they do if that is the case? I have almost 10 years experience and have been applying for jobs left and right with no response and have only been answering ads for employee based work because of the federal taxes? I can not understand why I am not getting any responses. What am I doing wrong?
I SAW a book on it once, too. It was called The Independent Medical Contractor.
nm
Do they offer both statutory employee and independent contractor status? Thank you! NM
NM
Look up the definition...
Definition of IC
I just experienced something horrible that happened to me this week. I've been an IC with a small transcription company (prefer not to mention name) for almost 1 year now. The manager has her moods. When I started to work this week, I noticed nothing was in my job que to type. I kept e-mailing her and e-mailing her and she never responded back. I then tried calling her and she never responded back. I started to get very frustrated. I found out from another IC that she had given my work to another IC without even confronting me. I know that an IC is different than a permanent employee, but how on earth could anybody treat somebody like that for no reason at all. Talk about being angry and frustrated! Luckily, I was able to find work pretty fast, but it really stinks when you are an IC that a company could just let you go for no reason at all and especially totally ignoring your e-mails and phone calls. Has anybody experienced what I just went through?
Definition of IC
The HR manager wants me to call her on Monday in regards to explain to me what the exact term of 1099/IC means. I did e-mail the staff that I was upset that I did not have any work in the cue for 9 straight days. They told me that's the definition of being an independent contractor. You would think they would have at least told me that TOA account went away. They did not even put me on another account. I would be sitting here for months without anything to do unless I did not catch looking on Global Documents and realizing that all of the TOA doctors were gone on the list. How would you handle that if you were an MT? I know you were QA2, but imagine being in my situation.
A contractor is a contractor
My brother is a painting contractor, doing primarily office/industrial jobs. When he bids on a project the buyer can make certain reasonable conditions: You can start any day after May 15 and we want you finished by our big open house June 1. You have to work after business hours, i.e., from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m. or weekends. We want high-quality washable semi-gloss paint. Don't splatter paint on the floor, furniture or woodwork; you are responsible for damages.
He tells them what he charges. If that works for both parties and everyone's needs can be met, then they sign the contract.
What the buyer cannot do is specify: Your crew will consist of 5 men. You will clock in from 6:01 p.m. to 6:59 a.m. every day from May 16 through May 31. You must use a 2 boar bristle brush and 12 rollers with 1/2 nap. You must mask off all woodwork and use 12' x 12' vinyl drop cloths. (It is understood that you are hiring a professional and he already knows how to do the job.) You will use 100 galons of XYZ brand paint which you can only buy from my cousin Vinnie.
Only the most general control can be exercised by the company hiring the contractor. Obviously the location where this type of work will be done is fixed. The date and time parameters are much less specifc. The methods and materials are completely up to the contractor.
I've got your definition
IC means they don't promise you a thing with regard to volume of work, but expect you to work as if you were an employee...
IC used to mean Independent Contractor - you contract with a service or doctor/hospital to provide certain services. They define the job needed to be done, but *you* set your price.
To be fair, a qualified MT still has the ability to negotiate rate, etc., and many MTSO's are flexible and fair. Too many however, (MQ) are so totally corporatized they are quickly moving to force the former independent into a employee status - and in the process removing *much* if not all of the production pay incentives that used to make this work (more)bearable.
Watch the new trend: Pay newbies nothing and QAers very little and end up with a finished product that nets a bigger profit. Hey, if we stand for it, we deserve to be exploited.
true definition
what is the true definition of a wannabe?
Definition of 10-key skills
Accounting courses teach 10-key skills by touch the same way typing courses teach keyboarding by touch. When you are entering numbers, it is much, much, much easier and faster to use the keypad to the right instead of the numbers on the top row of the keyboard. This is by touch, not by hunting and pecking the numbers to the right of the keyboard.
What's your definition of life?
It depends on what your definition of a life is. I don't have kids, so having a weekend free is not important to me. I don't believe in organized religion (but have great faith in God) so going to church isn't an issue. I love having days off during the week so I can do appointments, etc., easier without intruding on my workday. I am a night owl, so the shift I work for my MTSO which is 5 pm to 1:30 am is perfect for me. I love my schedule.
Saturdays and Sundays are the busiest days for work, especially if you're in acute care, so it makes sense to me that's when they want the most coverage.
I have lots of work in a failing economy, so I never complain about it.
Employee VS IC definition
You need to read up on IC VS employee status deinitions according to IRS and labor department. Google the term and read up a bit. Here is a page, click the various titles and they open up
Actually it's the exact definition of it.
x
I worked for them through a contractor.
And I loved it, loved the platform and they were very nice. Unfortunately when I tested for them a few months ago I got 96% and they require 98% DRATS! I will try again though!
Depends on your definition of holiday pay - sm
Several companies pay 1.5 times base if you work the holidays they recognize. If the holiday falls on your regularly scheduled day, you either have to work it or use PTO hours (or sometimes you are able flex that time and work it later) to be off on the holiday.
Do you know the definition of RUMOR? Sheesh!
You must be a riot at the laundromat! Yackety Yack! 
Definition of syntax inside....
syntaxOne entry found for syntax.
Main Entry: syn·tax 
Pronunciation: 'sin-taks
Function: noun
Etymology: Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French sintaxe, from Late Latin syntaxis, from Greek, from syntassein to arrange together, from syn- + tassein to arrange
1 a : the way in which linguistic elements (as words) are put together to form constituents (as phrases or clauses) b : the part of grammar dealing with this
2 : a connected or orderly system : harmonious arrangement of parts or elements <the syntax of classical architecture>
definition of a cherry picker
Cherry picking is when you get routed the easiest docs to transcribe from a particular account or when the gals in the office get routed the easier docs and leave the crap for the rest of us to do. I do every single doctor that comes to me on my account and do not pass it on to my coworkers. If I were doing that you better believe I would be hearing it from my coworkers as some of us talk between one another!!! You do not know what you are talking about and I am getting the impression that you are either a newbie or extremely immature. Somehow you seem to think that I owe you good accounts. Go out and find them, they are out there!!! Sounds like you are too afraid to expect more and lack the assertiveness necessary.... All careers have people who make the low end, middle end, and high end pay wise and job wise. I choose, here I use the word again choose to be one of the ones on the top end of the pay scale. It works the same way with for instance my husband's job. He chose to move his way up the ladder while other guys stayed down. What, is he supposed to stay down because they choose to not get ahead??? This is all so infantile... I gotta get back to work or maybe my coworkers will start to feel I am not pulling my weight!! Gee wiz....
Depends on your definition of change
No where on Nuance site could I find where it said they were moving everything to the US. Heard from Indian company the other day who was trying to recruit that Focus is hiring like crazy and are even signing up companies over there to subcontract their work to. Kinda interesting since they profess that they own all their own labor.
How is that going to help me? I wasn't asking for a definition of IC vs Employee
Just want to find a new job.
Just a quick definition for you anon for now...
SATIRE
1.the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2. a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.
3. a literary genre comprising such compositions.
obviously my post wasn't trying to trick anyone into believing I was a TT CEO, I didn't even give his name, and if anybody is slow enough to think that I am the CEO for a minute, please email me, I have a bridge to sale you.
This whole thread is about the pay decreases and why they are happending...satire, my friend, satire. I need to buy you one of those word-a-day calendars.
What is the definition of "Very nice?" $25, $50, $100, $1000?
.
Everyone has a different definition of good money. Mine is 50K or more.
x
definition of decent: Acceptable standards
making $50,000 a year as an MT is beyond decent, it is really great, but realistically a decent living would be less, which is what the poster asked, as the definition of decent is to have acceptable standards.
this may sound dumb but what exactly is an independant contractor?
I've always been an employee
Diskriter, contractor or regular employee
I was just wondering if Diskriter hires on an IC basis or as a regular company employee?
SC meaning SE (statutory employee) and or IC contractor.
Still looking for help on employee positions with no VR which are good. Thanks.
Axolotl employees----have questions about line definition, etc. sm
How does Axolotl define a line? Do they pay for spaces, headers, footers, & expansions? Are you docked for blanks or sending things to QA? If so, how much.
Thanks for the info. 
Have a fabulous 4th!
Independent = what is it? (SM)
Independent just means you are not on a time clock. As an IC, you contract to do work in the format and time table as dictated by the person who contracts you.
For example -- my lawn man is an IC. He can do my lawn when he wants, as long as it is done twice a week, but not closer than 3 days nor more than 4 days, as long as he does not use any motorized equipment (noise making of any sort) before 9 a.m. or after 4 p.m, as long as he does not do my lawn on weekends. My grass must be cut to a length acceptable to me. My bushes must be trimmed. The grass and trimmings must be removed from my lot. Plants and bushes cannot be changed, planted, nor removed without my permission. My sprinklers must be checked every time they come, and if I report a broken sprinkler, I expect it to be fixed with 24 hours.
But, given all of the above, the lawn man is an independent contractor and I pay a flat fee for services weekly. If he does not comply, I will terminate his service without notice.
independent
does anyone experience trouble with getting paid when working as an IC? i have been considering stentel and wonder if they have direct deposit and if pay is on time, lots of work? I appreciate all the help. thank you.
IC= independent
Perhaps you should read the law about it. If they control the specific hours, then the law says they have to hire employees. ICs can control their own schedules. obviously, that's why it's called independent. Read the IRS definitions.
i'm an independent sm
Literally NO politician gets a free pass from me. Case in point: Rick Perry & Kay B. Hutchison are running on the R ticket for Gov. here. Neither of them will get my vote.
John Cornyn won't, either.
Too many career politicians that are self-serving and conveniently won't let US decide on term limits. Does MQ give us all that? Do they give us the health care that the politicians get? Why should they get the platinum coverage for themselves and their family, and we don't?
Think about it.
I am independent but
the platform I work on, I think, is extremely good. I have said for some time now the money can be made but you have to have a good system and apparently not all fit that category. Oh, the dictators I have now are far from anything that resembles good dictators, terrible. I really don’t know of anyone who escapes those (unless you work for a few doctors perhaps in an office) but I do a hospital that is about 400+ bed.
Independent contractors
Can anyone who ICs give out a few good recommendations for good companies hiring ICs? Anyone work FT for company and start IC? Thanks
Independent contracting
Saw an ad recently for a company wanting to hire recruiters to bring in MTs and in turn would pay recruiter/IC a percentage of their recruited MTs overall work for a certain period of time. Is this legit?
I am an independent and I cannot get client to pay
Anybody have any options for me how to go about getting paid?
Need some help from independent contractors, please.
I am going from an employee status to an independent contractor. Exactly how much more of my taxes will I be paying instead of my employer. I am looking at my paystub from my employee status and I see FICA and Medicare being withheld. Does the employer pay a portion of the both the FICA and the Medicare or just the FICA. Is the percent like 7% or 8% or something else. I am just trying to figure out how much of my line rate this is going to eat up.
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