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Independent Contractor Checklist

1. No Instructions

The contractor is not required to follow, nor furnished with instructions of how to accomplish the job. Neither is he required to follow Company procedures, rules or regulations.

2. No Training

The contractor will not or did not receive training from the Company. He is to use his own methods to accomplish his work.

3. Services don’t have to be Rendered Personally

The contractor has the right to hire others to do the actual job.

4. Work not Essential to the Hiring Firm.

The Company’s success or continuation does not depend on the service of outside contractors.

5. Own Work Hours

The contractor sets his own work hours.

6. Not a Continuing Relationship

The contractor won’t have or doesn’t have a continuing relationship with the Company. The relationship may be frequent, but it is at irregular intervals, on call (not full-time), or whenever work is available.

7. Control their own Assistants

Any assistants the contractor has used have been solely at the contractor’s discretion and under the contractor’s sole supervision.

8. Time to Pursue Other Work

The contractor has enough time available to pursue other gainful work.

9. Job Location

The contractor controls the location of the work. If on Company premises, it will not be or has not been under the Company’s direction or supervision.

10. Order of Work Set

The contractor determines the order and sequence of his work.

11. No Interim Reports

The contractor is hired for the final result…and therefore the Company will not or has not asked for progress or interim reports, or asked the Contractor to call in and report progress.

12. Payment Timing and Records

The contractor is paid by the job, not by time. Payment by the job may include periodic payments based on a percentage of the job completed. (Payment may be based on the number of hours needed to do the job times a fixed hourly rate determined before the job.)

The contractor will not be or has not been paid on the same day as Company employees. All records, including payment records, are located in vendor files not employee files.

13. Working for Multiple Firms

The contractor works for more than one firm at a time.

14. Business Expenses

The contractor is responsible for his incidental expenses.

15. Own Tools and Supplies

The contractor furnishes his own tools. If the Company leases him equipment, the lease was equivalent to what an independent business person could obtain in the open market.

16. Significant Investment

The contractor can perform his services without Company facilities (equipment, office furniture, machinery, etc.). The contractor’s investment in his trade is real, essential, and adequate.

17. Offers Services to the General Public

Q The contractor has an office.

Q The contractor has assistants.

Q The contractor has business signs.

Q The contractor has a business license.

Q He lists his services in a business directory.

Q He advertises his services.

18. Possible profit or loss

Q The contractor hires, directs, and pays his assistants.

Q He has his own office, equipment, materials, or facilities.

Q The contractor has continuing and reoccurring liabilities.

Q The contractor has agreed to perform specific jobs for prices agreed upon in advance.

Q The contractor’s services affect his business reputation.

Q The contractor is liable for his losses.

19. Limited Right to Fire

The contractor can’t be fired so long as he produces a result which meets the contract specifications.

20. No Compensation for Non-Completion

The contractor is responsible for the satisfactory completion of a job or he may be legally obligated to compensate the Company for failure to complete.

21. Employees are Treated Differently

Company employees, if any, performing similar work, are treated significantly different than the Company treats this contractor.

22. Work not Reviewed

The Company does not review the work prior to completion.

23. Valid Contract

The Contract for Services is valid and correctly represents the services being performed. (If you do not check this box, please correct or extend the contract and/or contact your labor counsel.)

24. No Quotas, No Deadlines

The contractor is not given quotas, deadlines, or other work restrictions.

25. Leads not Provided

The contractor will not be or has not been provided sales leads. If provided, no progress reports are required.

26. No References to “Employee”

The Company has not called the contractor an employee, nor is he thought of as an employee by the Company.

27. No Employee Benefits

The contractor does not receive vacation pay, sick pay, profit sharing, health insurance, or other employee benefits.

28. Federal Safe Harbor Protection

If (since December 31, 1977) the Company relied on federal safe harbor protection when the Company hired the worker:

Q The Company has filed the required 1099’s

Q The Company has consistently treated this worker and anyone performing similar work as independent contractors.

Q The Company has checked to see if there have been new rulings or evidence which strengthens or hurts its case.

(If you didn’t check the first two Q ‘s, your federal safe harbor exemption will be invalidated.)