Employee Classification a Priority for Ohio Attorney General
February 24th, 2009By Aaron Harrison
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray recently announced a new concentrated effort with the assistance of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, Ohio Bureau of Workers' Compensation and the Ohio Depratment of Taxation to identify and prevent employers who improperly classify statutory employees as independent contractors.
In the event of a misclassification, an employer could be liable for unpaid employment taxes owed to the Federal, State and local government, in addition to penalties and interest accrued from the time of the initial misclassification.
The appropriate determination of whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor is based on a twenty factor test that has been established by the Internal Revenue Service. Among the factors included in the twenty factor test are the amount of control exerted by the employer, such as working hours or location; the amount of investment the worker has in its own property that is necessary to perform the work (such as vehicles, equipment or tools); and the exclusivity of the relationship. Of course, this list only contains a portion of the factors considered when determining whether the classification is appropriate.
If you have any question about the appropriate classification of an employee or independent contractor, feel free to contact us to learn more.
The original press release issued by the Ohio Attorney General's Office can be found here.
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