Have Your Employees Been Misclassified as Independent Contractors?

Rosenberg Martin Greenberg – Whether mandated by the government or as a result of economic factors, many businesses have been forced to either shut down or significantly limit operations as a result of COVID-19.  Businesses everywhere are looking for financial assistance in order to survive and many are concerned about retaining their most valuable asset, their employees.  Recent government initiatives created by the CARES Act, such as the Paycheck Protection Program (“the PPP”) and Employee Retention Credit (“Retention Credit”), are viable options for smaller labor-intensive businesses facing these issues.  Unfortunately, since these incentives are predicated on the magnitude of “payroll,” businesses historically categorizing their workers as either independent contractors or nonemployees will miss out.  It is not too late to proactively address these classifications to qualify for additional benefits from these initiatives.  These changes may not only improve the prospect for government assistance, but they can also mitigate potentially significant taxes and penalties resulting from misclassification.

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