Employment / Tax Fraud
This is not about me. Peachie Girl recently got a job as a therapist; she is working as a contractor - she only gets paid after the paperwork goes through, and then gets just $27 for an hour appointment. If the client doesn't show up, she doesn't get paid. If the paperwork isn't filed, she doesn't get paid.
About two weeks ago, the owner of the facility called all the therapists in to a meeting and screamed at them, saying that there were errors in their paperwork, and that the auditors would close her down if they were not fixed. Accordingly, she ordered them all not to see any patients for the next two weeks and just work on the paperwork.
Without pay.
Now, I am not a lawyer, but I once worked as a contractor myself, and had to do some extraordinary means to avoid having my one full-time client declared as my employer. There are some real advantages to the employer to treat somebody as a 1099 contractor rather than a W-4 employee; they don't have to withhold taxes and they don't have to pay the employer contribution to FICA. The laws therefore are very specific about who is an employee and who is a contractor. In general, if you direct how and when people must work, they are employees, and there are severe penalties if you claim an employee is a contractor.
It seems to me that the therapists, having been ordered to work without pay, are now legally employees, and should receive the benefits of such a status, including regular pay. But somebody has to report the owner and Peachie Girl refuses to do so.
I am annoyed.
About two weeks ago, the owner of the facility called all the therapists in to a meeting and screamed at them, saying that there were errors in their paperwork, and that the auditors would close her down if they were not fixed. Accordingly, she ordered them all not to see any patients for the next two weeks and just work on the paperwork.
Without pay.
Now, I am not a lawyer, but I once worked as a contractor myself, and had to do some extraordinary means to avoid having my one full-time client declared as my employer. There are some real advantages to the employer to treat somebody as a 1099 contractor rather than a W-4 employee; they don't have to withhold taxes and they don't have to pay the employer contribution to FICA. The laws therefore are very specific about who is an employee and who is a contractor. In general, if you direct how and when people must work, they are employees, and there are severe penalties if you claim an employee is a contractor.
It seems to me that the therapists, having been ordered to work without pay, are now legally employees, and should receive the benefits of such a status, including regular pay. But somebody has to report the owner and Peachie Girl refuses to do so.
I am annoyed.