Can independent contractors be forced to work at a specific place?
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Can independent contractors be forced to work at a specific place?
The company I work for has said that new laws have passed for independent contractors and that’s why they can force us to go to the office to work and tell us when our work day starts and ends. Does this law actually exist? Is there anything that exists that says independent contractors can be forced to work at a specific place and time when such things were not covered in the contract I signed?
Asked on September 13, 2010 under Employment Labor Law, Pennsylvania
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 13 years ago | Contributor
No, there is no such law, and furthermore, if your employer can, as a *general* matter, tell independent contractors what hours to work and where to work, they are not "independent" contractors--they are employees, eligible for overtime (if nonexempt from overtime), and for whom the employer needs to pay FICA, provide benefits (as appropriate), etc.
Go to the Dept. of Labor website; you can find the "tests" for whether someone is an independent contractor or not. Probably the biggest factor in finding that someone is actually an employee and needs to be paid as such is that the employer exercises substantial control.
There are always some exceptions depending on circumstances, of course: certain kinds of IT independent contractors might need to do their support, etc. onsite and during normal working hours, when the employer's staff needs suppport. But that's a function of the specific situation.
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