Have you worked for a company that classified you as an independent contractor? If so, your employment classification may have deprived you of benefits that employees receive under state and federal law, costing you money or putting you at risk of illegal discrimination or retaliation. The attorneys at Moon Law Group, PC, can help you pursue a claim for financial compensation or legal relief after an employer wrongfully classifies you as an independent contractor.
Since 2007, our firm has focused exclusively on representing workers in employment law cases, handling some of the most legally and factually complex matters in California. We have a proven track record of success in state and federal courts, having recovered millions of dollars for tens of thousands of hardworking workers. As one of the largest plaintiff’s employment law firms in California, our attorneys have extensive experience handling collective and class action lawsuits. These enable groups of employees with substantially similar claims against an employer to stand up for their rights and interests.
Discover how you can demand the accountability and compensation you deserve after being misclassified by your employer. Contact Moon Law Group for a free, confidential consultation with a knowledgeable Los Angeles employee misclassification lawyer.
How Can a Los Angeles Independent Contractor Misclassification Lawyer Help with My Case?
Given the legal and factual complexities of a worker misclassification claim, you can best assert your rights with the help of an experienced employment law attorney. The team with Moon Law Group can support your claim for compensation by:
- Investigating your case to obtain evidence of your employee status, such as contracts, pay records, correspondence with an employer, or witness statements
- Helping you understand your rights and options, including whether to pursue your claims in a collective or class action, and advising you on key points so that you make informed decisions
- Documenting your financial losses and other legal harms, including unpaid minimum wage or overtime, lost benefits, or discriminatory treatment, so that we can pursue complete relief on your behalf
- Filing your claims through the appropriate channels and vigorously pursuing maximum compensation or legal relief for you, whether through a negotiated settlement with your employer or by taking your case to court and trial to demand accountability through litigation
- Never charging you anything to begin working on your case, with no fees unless we successfully resolve your matter
Our law firm has the resources, skills, and determination to hold businesses liable when they violate their workers’ rights. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation case review.
For a free legal consultation with an independent contractor misclassification lawyer serving Los Angeles, call 213-232-3128
What Is the Difference Between an Independent Contractor and an Employee?
An independent contractor differs from an employee in the nature of their relationship with an employer. They typically have a transient, project-based relationship with an employer, whereas an employee has an ongoing working relationship with their employer.
State and federal agencies or courts use a number of factors to determine whether a person qualifies as an independent contractor or employee, including the following:
- The degree of control that the worker can exercise over how they perform their tasks
- The amount of money that a worker invests in their facilities or work equipment, or whether the employer furnishes facilities and equipment to the worker
- The worker’s opportunity for profit and loss
- The payment structure in the worker’s and employer’s relationship
- The permanency of the relationship between the employer and the worker
- The extent to which the worker’s service forms a core part of the employer’s business
- The degree of the worker’s dependence on the employer for continued work
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What is California’s Law on Independent Contractor Classification?
Under California law, a person qualifies as an employee if they work for an employer under an appointment, contract of hire, or apprenticeship, regardless of whether the employment is lawful or unlawful.
People included within the statutory definition of an employee include the following:
- Elected and appointed paid public officers
- Officers and members of boards of directors of quasi-public or private corporations who render services to the corporation for pay
- People employed by the owner or occupant of a residential dwelling to perform duties incidental to the ownership, maintenance, or use of the dwelling, including the care and supervision of children
- People incarcerated in a state penal or correctional institution who engage in assigned work or employment, or work performed under contract
- Working members of a partnership or limited liability company who receive wages separate from distributions of profits
- People committed to state hospital facilities under the State Department of State Hospitals who engage in assigned work in a vocational rehabilitation program
- People who undertake employment training arranged by the State Department of Rehabilitation with an employer
- People who perform in-home supportive services
- People engaged by contract to create a specially ordered or commissioned work of authorship that the contract designates as a “work made for hire,” for which the commissioning party holds the copyright
Furthermore, the law presumes that any person rendering service for another, other than as an independent contractor or statutorily excluded from the definition of an “employee,” shall qualify as an employee.
Conversely, state law defines an “independent contractor” as a person who renders services for specific compensation, with the hiring principal having the right only to control the results of the work, not how the person completes their work.
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What Rights Would I Not Have if I’m Wrongly Classified as an Independent Contractor?
Workers classified as independent contractors miss out on numerous statutory rights and benefits afforded to employees under state and federal law. These include the following:
- Minimum wage protection
- Rights to overtime pay for non-exempt work
- Rights to meal and rest breaks under state and federal wage and hour laws
- Access to employer-provided health insurance or pension benefits
- Social Security benefits (unless an independent contractor pays self-employment taxes)
- Protection under employment discrimination laws
- Workers’ compensation benefits
- Short-term disability insurance
- Unemployment insurance
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What Are My Legal Options if I Was Misclassified as an Independent Contractor?
Misclassification of employees in California can occur when employers erroneously interpret the law to determine that a worker falls under the category of an independent contractor. However, employers also sometimes deliberately misclassify workers to avoid payroll taxes, workers’ compensation and health insurance costs, or the restrictions of wage and hour or employment discrimination laws.
Regardless of an employer’s intent, misclassified workers may have legal options for pursuing financial compensation or other forms of relief from the effects of misclassification.
What If I’m Not the Only One at My Workplace Who’s Been Wrongly Classified as an Independent Contractor?
Many employers who misclassify workers as independent contractors do so for multiple workers under their employ. While pursuing legal action against the employer may not be financially feasible for each worker individually, workers misclassified by the same employer under the same policy may be able to pursue their claims collectively or as a class action. Doing so allows multiple workers to pursue their misclassification claims as a single legal action, which means they benefit from sharing legal expenses by pooling their claims into a single case.
At Moon Law Group, we have extensive experience representing workers in collective and class actions under state and federal wage and hour laws, workplace discrimination laws, and other employment laws. Our firm can advise you and your co-workers on whether you can and should pursue your claims as a collective or class action.
What Damages Could I Recover for Employee Misclassification?
Being misclassified as an independent contractor can cause you to suffer financial losses due to the lack of legal protections you would otherwise be entitled to under state and federal law. Fortunately, you can pursue a claim against your employer to recover those losses.
Compensation you might recover for an independent contractor misclassification includes the following:
- Liquidated damages
- Civil penalties, if the employer intentionally misclassified you
- Unpaid meal and rest breaks, plus interest
- Health insurance and other W2 employee benefits
- Attorney fees and legal costs
How Long Do I Have to File a Claim for Being Misclassified as an Independent Contractor?
In California, the statute of limitations typically requires you to file any misclassification lawsuit within three years of your last day of work in a job where your employer misclassified you as an independent contractor, particularly when you have wage-and-hour-based claims. However, other types of claims may have different filing deadlines.
You can best protect your rights under state and federal employment law by speaking with an attorney from Moon Law Group as soon as possible. Otherwise, you could risk missing the window for asserting your rights under the law.
Contact a Los Angeles Independent Contractor Misclassification Attorney Today
Has an employer improperly classified you as an independent contractor? If so, you may have a legal claim for the harm you suffered as a result, such as lost pay, benefits, and rights afforded to employees under state and federal law.
Contact Moon Law Group today for a free, confidential consultation with a Los Angeles employee misclassification attorney. We can hear your story and discuss your options for pursuing legal relief.
Call or text 213-232-3128 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
