{"id":4697,"date":"2019-04-19T08:50:30","date_gmt":"2019-04-19T12:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/?p=4697"},"modified":"2019-04-19T08:50:30","modified_gmt":"2019-04-19T12:50:30","slug":"employee-versus-independent-contractor-in-workers-compensation-claims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/joemillerinjurylaw.com\/employee-versus-independent-contractor-in-workers-compensation-claims\/","title":{"rendered":"Employee Versus Independent Contractor in Workers\u2019 Compensation Claims"},"content":{"rendered":"

Workers can file for workers\u2019 compensation<\/a> in both Virginia and North Carolina if they are an employee. They cannot file for workers compensation injury benefits if they are an independent contractor. The main factor in determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is how much <\/span>control <\/b>the employer has over the worker\u2019s performance. More control means an employee status. Less control means an independent contractor status.<\/span><\/p>\n

Independent contractors, if an accident occurs, can generally only file a personal injury<\/a> complaint. Unlike workers comp claims, in a personal injury complaint, the plaintiff must prove that the party at fault was careless or negligent. In workers\u2019 compensation cases, the worker does not have to prove any type of fault. The employee is entitled to workers\u2019 compensation if the accident was work-related.<\/span><\/p>\n

The difference between an employee status and an independent contractor status is often a fine line. Employers often try to assert a worker was an independent contractor so they don\u2019t have to pay the worker his\/her wages and medical bills. Fortunately, for workers, the employee does not have the final say on the work-relationship status. The workers\u2019 compensation Commissioners decide the status \u2013 and thus the eligibility to file a claim.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many times, it is easy to determine whether the worker is an employee or independent contractor. If a retail store hires a full-time employee who also gets vacation pay, health insurance, and retirement benefits \u2013 and the employee reports to the same store and the same office manager and has set hours \u2013 then the worker is most likely an employee. If the retail store hires someone to come into the store and fix a broken tile in one hour \u2013 and that\u2019s all the worker does \u2013 that suggests an independent contractor status.<\/span><\/p>\n

The key factors in deciding the work relationship<\/i><\/b><\/h3>\n

Again, as noted above, the main factor in determining whether a worker is an employee or an independent contractor is how much <\/span>control <\/b>the employer has over the worker\u2019s performance. More control means an employee status. Less control means an independent contractor status. The <\/span>Internal Revenue Service<\/span><\/a> uses the following key factors to decide the work-relationship question. Workers\u2019 compensation Commissioners look to a very similar set of factors to decide whether the worker is an employee or an independent contractor.<\/span><\/p>\n