{"id":4439,"date":"2018-01-31T11:02:01","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T15:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/?p=4439"},"modified":"2018-01-31T11:02:01","modified_gmt":"2018-01-31T15:02:01","slug":"independent-contractors-and-workers-compensation-in-north-carolina-and-virginia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/independent-contractors-and-workers-compensation-in-north-carolina-and-virginia\/","title":{"rendered":"Independent Contractors and Worker\u2019s Compensation in North Carolina and Virginia"},"content":{"rendered":"

As a general rule, a worker must be an <\/span>employee<\/b> in order to qualify for work injury benefits in either North Carolina or Virginia. Workers who are independent contractors are not eligible for either lost pay benefits or for medical bills through worker\u2019s compensation. This means that any worker who wants to receive workers’ compensation must show he\/she was employee when the accident occurred. It also means that the insurance company for the employer will want to show that an injured worker was not an employee but worked independently.<\/span><\/p>\n

Employers are required to have workers’ compensation for all their employees and are required to know the difference between an employee and an independent contractor. Typically, an employer pays an employee payroll taxes and unemployment taxes for the employee – in addition to paying for worker\u2019s compensation insurance and sometimes even healthcare benefits. <\/span><\/p>\n

Our firm has handled many of these kinds of cases, and <\/span>prevailed<\/span><\/a> in all of them by proving that the employee was, in fact, an employee as opposed to an independent contractor. We see many employers attempting to get away with this \u201cmisclassification\u201d of employees, particularly in industries such as construction, <\/span>cable installation<\/span><\/a>, or transportation, where it can be costly to maintain workers compensation insurance. Also, as mentioned previously, classifying employees as independent contractors frees the employer from the obligation to pay payroll taxes or health insurance if there are more than 50 such employees. The problem is, when one of these employees gets seriously injured, he or she has no way to pay for the hefty hospital bills. <\/span><\/p>\n

We have often found that these employers often do have workers compensation insurance. They just refuse to extend that insurance to cover certain workers that they wrongly classify as independent contractors. Once we have proven those workers are, in fact, employees, then the insurance coverage steps in and covers the employee. <\/span><\/p>\n

Neither the worker <\/span>nor the employer<\/b> gets to make the decision as to the employee\u2019s work status. This is true, even if the employer forces a worker to sign a statement saying he\/she is an independent contractor before doing any work. Even if the worker receives a federal 1099 form, that is <\/span>not conclusive to show the worker is an independent contractor.<\/b> The state workers ‘compensation commissions make the decision which means, for all practical matters, that the Deputy Commissioner makes the call. <\/span><\/p>\n

The Virginia Workers Compensation Commission and the North Carolina Industrial Commission typically review a variety of factors to determine if you are an employee or independent contractor. Many of these factors are based on the guidelines set forth by the Internal Revenue Service. The key issue tends to be who controls the worker\u2019s hours, labor, and manner of performance. If the employer has control, then the worker is usually an employee. If the worker has control, the worker is usually an independent contractor. Some of these factors are:<\/span><\/p>\n