Be careful to classify workers properly

Q         We need someone to work as an assistant between five and eight hours each week. Can we hire someone as an independent contractor, or does the person have to be classified as an employee?

A   While I understand the temptation to hire someone as an independent contractor, classifying an assistant as a contractor could come with some risk. Generally, a contractor is a person who is hired to complete a task with the right to control the details of how the work is performed. The type of work generally performed by an assistant wouldn’t be done with the autonomy usually associated with a contractor.

A contractor might have a special skill needed to serve your business’s customer. Again, an assistant who is working on administrative or clerical tasks likely would be considered an employee. One would expect contractors to set their own hours and provide their own tools, supplies, and support. That may not be part of the arrangement you envision.

If you hire someone who is truly an employee but treat them like a contractor for reasons that solely benefit the employer, you might expose yourself to liability if the arrangement were examined by an auditor or attorney.

Eric Loman is an attorney with Jackson Loman Stanford Downey & Stevens-Block, P.C., in Albuquerque. You can reach him at eric@jacksonlomanlaw.com.