Question for people who have gone from IC to employee. sm

• Question for people who have gone from IC to employee. sm - searching
  • I was so overdue for some time off! ... sm - just me
  • I switched 2 years ago. - Getting older
  • I went from IC to employee status. - Soxfan
    • silly question i'm sure.... - atc
      • Work locally so it's different - LinK
      • working 8 hours? - amdahwd
      • It's actually a very complicated question. sm - searching
    • IC to Employee - LinK

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I read an article on the web regarding how companies are abusing the independent contractor status to keep from paying benefits, WC, social security, etc.  In my situation, I have been with the same company for three years and I do not get shift differential, weekend differential, or overtime.  I work 7 days a week, totally directed by the company, hours set by the company, etc.  If I had been an employee, which I believe I have been all along, I would be owed thousands of dollars in overtime.  Where do YOU fall?  Below is the IRS quick look at where you stand.

http://www.ftmn.com/Employee.html

you need "employee stuff" but I am not an employee because I don't need employee stuff. I just need work.

Why do *I* have to adhere to a schedule? I don't. And my MTSO loves me to death because I just make her look good.

You need to go to an all-employee company or a company where you are the boss so you can stop this from happening. The MTSO just wants the work out of there. You want it to all be suspended until you sit down to work, and that is just not going to happen, nor should it.

If I actually work 40 hours a week, my gross is about $730, which I think is good when I also have all taxes cut (Federal match), PTO, STD, LTD, healthy, dental, vision, internet reimbursement, quarterly and yearly incentives in addition to base pay.  Never run out of work.  Benefits add about 30% more to base pay, so it seems to be a wash with the ICs who have commented.

I left a job recently where I worked 5 hours a day and grossed $750/week with all taxes cut, 2 paid weeks vacation a year, free health insurance.  I left because they were getting interns to work for free and forcing out their higher paid and longer term employees.  Had to use vacation pay when there was not work or not get paid at all.

I like the pay/hours at the former job but I like the current stability that I have now better.

In my 22 year MT career I've found that doing a bit of both works best for me.  Since I'm a single parent I really need the insurance benefits, and with regards to taxes, my accountant told me it's best to keep your W2 job because the taxes you pay there helps to pay your self-employment taxes.  I do 20 hours W2 and the other half IC.

ms

I would like to hear from any of you that have gone from an IC to an employee, on howyou handled the changes.  I am thinking about giving up my IC position (which is my own account with a hospital) to look for a full time position with a national company. As an employee, do you really have to sit in front of the computer 8 to 12 hours for your shift?  What happens if there is nothing to transcribe?  Do you have to stay put and wait? 

I have only transcribed as a hospital employee (paid by the hour) and then came home for the same hospital as an IC (paid by the minute of dictation) when my youngest had health problems.  I have always had enough work with occasional slow weeks at the same time every year.  I have done some IC work with a few smaller MTSO.  The hospital is going through a lot of changes and I do not feel that my position is stable.  I was offered a position with a national a little over a year ago but raised my rates at the hospital instead.  (Although after I raised my rates, they looked into using a service and found I was way cheaper to use).  But I have recently figured my line counts with this hospital (Never bothered before because I got paid per minute) and figured I only got paid between 8-9 cpl with the same rate on weekends and nights.  I was offered that plus benefits with other companies. 

Should I try to find a good company and adjust to the changes in my schedule?  (sorry so long)

I work full-time as an employee, but did some work on the side for my brother-in-law.  I have a 1099 from him.  When I file taxes, do I just file a 1040 with a schedule C-EZ (it was only $1000) for the IC work?  Or do I need to file another form to figure out how much in taxes I need to pay?

Thank you for any help you can give me!

Chickadee

See below for what it says about being an I/C and therefore a "business" just like the MTSO.  I always  pay my IC's before myself and I am lucky that my docs pay so well and fast -- usually 48 hours receipt of invoice but did have some many years ago where they did not and it is hard to keep everything balanced.  Many times if the general contractor does not get paid neither do the subs on a house construction.

Just as we are expected to use Google in our work, a prospective employer can google that is how I feel. 

I do not, however, put full names of my personal accounts.  I simply list the specialty, city and state.  I do not want someone targeting my clients to offer a lower rate or soliciting them to try and take my clients.  I would be careful especially if you are an IC.  Call me paranoid, but I think there could be companies out there just trying to get names of clients so they can contact them for themselves to gain work.

The only thing I'd worry about if switching from employee to IC is the health insurance.  I have a lot of medical concerns and would probably end up paying a huge amount for insurance; that is, if they would even cover me with my pre-existing conditions.  At least as an employee, I'm covered for everything medical. 

excerpt below from FedEx lawsuit regarding IC vs Employee:

2. What is the legal difference between employees and independent contractors?
There are state and federal laws that address the issue of whether you are an independent contractor or employee. While the legal standards vary, generally, courts determine if a person is an employee or an independent contractor by asking certain key questions:

a) Is the manner of performing the work determined by the company or the driver? (if company = employee)
b) Are the services provided by the driver part of the regular business of the company? (Yes = employee)
c) Does the company have the right to fire the driver? (Yes = employee)
d) Does the driver provide services for different companies or just one? (if only one = employee)
e) How long does the driver work for one company and only one company? (if extended time = employee)
f) Can the drivers make a profit or suffer a loss based on the way they manage the route? (No=employee)
g) Does the company reserve the right to exercise control over how the work is done? (Yes = employee)

The actual conduct of the parties, not the labels used, determines

you are an IC I would read your contract and see what it says about stats.  You are not only acting as an MT, but also an account manager and you should bill for that and bill a bit extra for stats that fall outside of your normal work day.

If an employee I would discuss the situation with them, state that you are no longer able to handle stats outside of your normally scheduled shift and clarify your job description/title.  It sounds like any time you aren't transcribing you aren't making money, so you either need some responsibilities taken off of you or your pay needs to be negotiated. 

I don't know how often you have to contact the account or they contact you.  If it is only occasionally, at most twice a week, and it is only answering questions and not having to hunt down reports, do reprints, etc. I wouldn't think that was a major deal and might just grin and bear it, but having to deal with stats 24/7 is definitely out of the question.  If the account was your personal account, you might be expected to cover stats 24/7, but it is totally unreasonable otherwise IMO.