The workplace has evolved dramatically in recent years and has shifted from a traditional office based workforce to one in which flexibility has become commonplace and employers draw on talent outside their traditional employee base. Studies estimate that more than 40 percent of the U.S. workforce will be made up of independent contractors by 2020. And as a growing number of workers participate in the on-demand or gig economy, properly classifying them has become an increasingly complex dilemma.
Independent contractor misclassification is perhaps the most difficult compliance issue that companies face today – with three different legal tests under federal law ( IRS 20-factor, FLSA “economic realities” and the Darden common law test ) and up to four different legal tests in each state layered on top of federal tax, wage-hour, unemployment and workers’ compensation.
To tackle this complex issue, ComplianceHR developed Navigator IC to significantly simplify the time-consuming and confusing independent contractor analysis. Users complete an easy-to-use questionnaire and Navigator IC analyzes each individual fact pattern under all applicable federal and state tests. It rapidly applies complex logic based on Littler’s analysis of the facts that courts found most important in determining independent contractor status in more than 1,500 reported cases. Each assessment is saved to your ComplianceHR dashboard, so you can quickly return to the forms you’ve generated in the past.
In addition to delivering an actionable risk assessment, Navigator IC also provides a report on how to lower the risk of misclassification together with a summary of applicable laws and a transcript of questionnaire answers.
To learn more about NavigatorIC and how to use in your compliance program, please contact us at info@compliancehr.com.
