Independent Contractor Compliance Blog - by Collabrus™

Depending on a one size fits all automated questionnaire to determine the status of your consultants is dangerous for your company.  You could be putting a lot of faith in a slick, easy tool that won’t hold up when the classification is challenged.  Why?

The level of detail needed to correctly make an IC classification decision is far more than a fast questionnaire can provide.

The level of detail required at a common law hearing -employee or independent contractor-or civil trial, surprises most laypersons.

For example, you are probably aware of the FedEx class action case, where delivery drivers brought an action against FedEx to win employee status and benefits.  The evidence and detailed descriptions of the working relationships between the drivers and the company required thousands of pages of documents.  For any given driver being considered there were 40 to 80 questions asked, plus volumes of backup documentation.

Why is it so complex?

To give you an idea of the level of detail required here are a few of the questions required on something as seemingly straight forward as, “Does the driver provide his own truck?” 

• Does the driver purchase his own truck?
• Does he lease it from the company?
• Can he lease/purchase it from another company, or is he required to obtain it only from a designated provider?
• Can he pick the brand and model of truck, or is that controlled by the company?
• If he is leasing or buying the truck how was financing arranged?  (By the delivery company?)
• If he doesn’t have sufficient credit on his own will the company co-sponsor the loan?
• If he is buying or leasing the truck are payments deducted from the driver’s settlement checks?
• When he leaves what happens to the truck?
• Can he sell the truck to anyone?
• Can he use the truck for non-FedEx personal business (i.e. moving his sister’s furniture)?
• Can he use the truck to deliver packages for other (competitor) companies?
• Is there a standard of cleanness/appearance (for the truck) the driver must adhere to?
• Is there a required maintenance schedule that must be followed?
• Can the driver paint “his truck” with any color or design he wishes?
• Are there procedural polices or safety rules the driver must follow while using the truck?
• What happens if the driver violates a truck policy or procedure?
• Are there “driver logs” the driver must complete?
• Can the company tell the driver what packages to deliver first, second, or last while using the truck?
• Can a company management employee observe, or ride along with the driver to determine if he is following policy (safe driving, customer relations, etc)?

The Drop Down List above is only about this one factor-the truck-and it is not complete.  There are at least 20 such factors to consider….each with their own “Drop Down” questions.

Some of these questions and answers will require back up documentation-some won’t.

In addition, the nature and weighting of the questions change for each profession.

No automated questionnaire can beat the experience and judgment of an expert.

A fast and easy questionnaire is a good starting place, but often times the answers in a questionnaire only point to a general direction where further questions need to be answered, or documentation supplied.  It takes an experienced eye to know what additional questions to ask and how to weigh the factors-navigation only a true expert can perform.

One of the things Collabrus is very good at.

That’s why Collabrus starts with a short, painless questionnaire that I personally review.  We only drill down on the issues that require drilling, but you can rest easy knowing our final answer will withstand a challenge.

We will provide a definitive determination within 24 hours from the time we have all of the information, including any supporting documents.

Go with a true expert.

There is no reason to rely on a feel good now, pay later option, when you can rely on Collabrus.