RE: Contract work regulations in Massachusetts

["Al Geist" <al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com>]

Hi Evelyn,

Sure sounds like a sweat shop, and a hostile one at that; however.....

Your son made a couple of mistake in the very beginning. He did not get the
job defined and he started work before signing any papers. I've been both a
contactor/consultant and an employee for over 40 years and the last job I
had on a handshake was just after high school when I worked at the local
riding stables (saddling horses, feeding horses, cleaning up after horses,
and teaching the "city folk" how to ride).

As for working as a consultant and having to pay your own taxes and keep
your own books, what is wrong with that? It's not that hard to do and there
are some tax benefits to be gained from being "in business for yourself."
If, however, he has only one contract and that contract specifies the times
he is required to be "at the office" and even determines his break times,
then the IRS may look at him as an employee. A lot of marginally ethical
companies try to skirt that law, and they use intimidation to keep the
employees in line. During this recession, there can probably get away with
it a lot easier than they could during the good times. The problem your son
faces is if he goes to the authorities, he will surely loose this job. If he
doesn't say something, he will be used until he is no longer needed and then
kicked out the door.

Tell him good luck and mark this job up as one of those miserable, but
necessary lessons in life.

Al Geist
Technical Communicator, Help, Web Design, Video, Photography
Office/Msg: 802-872-9190
Cell: 802-578-3964
E-mail: al -dot- geist -at- geistassociates -dot- com
Website: www.geistassociates.com
See Also:
Fine Art Photography
Website: www.geistarts.com
 
"...I walked to work, quit my job, and kept walking. Better to be a pilgrim
without a destination, I figured, than to cross the wrong threshold each
day." (Sy Safransky)


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