While flexible work hours have become more common, flexible work arrangements can be a boon to small businesses. Being able, and willing to allow moms time to run to school when their kids get in trouble, or anyone time to meet the plumber in an emergency, can allow you to attract and keep employees who [...] Continue Reading…

I know it’s terribly trite to say “I love my work” but the fact that I do came home to me when I was not home, but on vacation. We spent a glorious couple of days at Rough Creek Lodge. I relaxed and had a great time, but spent a lot of my time at [...] Continue Reading…

A common question I get: ” I keep hearing that a company can’t use independent contractors more than 6 months, or more than a year. What’s the real story?”

I was going to write a bit about net neutrality today, but work calls so here’s a link to a decent summary.

Companies are afraid to use independent contractors (IC) which limits how they get the help they need and therefore how they expand their business. Another consequence of that is that ICs are being forced to limit their entrepreneurial zest by being required to work as employees.

Taxing authorities are making a mint doing Independent Contractor (IC) audits. Big companies are afraid to use ICs because of it. Yet they, and to a greater extent smaller companies are making it more likely that the taxing agencies will reclassify workers and impose those big assessments. How? By being careless. As much as the [...] Continue Reading…

Should you have a “work for hire” contract to ensure you own any IP you have someone else create? Most attorneys would say YES!! But I say, it depends on where you live.

The courier industry in CA had a win recently in the ongoing battle by the EDD and class action attorneys to reclassify all drivers as employees.

California has had a statutes that allows the EDD to impose personal liability for the mis-classification of independent contractors. But this statute, Unemployment Code Section 1735 has not been used much in the past.

President Elect Obama, as a senator, introduced S.2044 The Independent Contractor Proper Classification Act of 2007, a misnamed act at best. I find much to disagree with in this proposal, however, this discussion of the act by WorkerFreedom missed the mark.