Re: 1099 Issues

[David Demyan <concord -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM>]

You wrote:

>Rumor has it, Dave, that you work for a recruiting agency. I ask
>because I'm concerned that your advise may be slightly biased and
>may therefore prove misleading.

>Could you take a moment and clear the air? I'm sure people would
>be appreciative if they knew that they were not being swayed on
>an issue where monetary incentives were involved.

Gina:

I'll try to be politic here. My first impulse was to rail about having
my motives called into question. I DO resent the implication that I
would deliberately misrepresent the 1099 tax code issue for *monetary
incentives.* I seriously doubt such a position on my part would ever
bring any business my way.

But in one way you are correct. Yes, I do own a recruiting firm. We
announce some of our best opportunities on TECHWR-L. I am also a writer
working for one of my major clients. We supply contract technical
writers, mostly to the telecommunications industry. I have read, with
lament, the directives from one major telecom client that under no
circumstances are we to submit any resumes for contractors who will
only work 1099 status because this client does not want the legal
exposure. So I certainly do lose business when candidates insist that
they must work on 1099. But from here on in you are wrong and I
strongly object to your implications.

My incentive is to help match a qualified writer with a client who
needs help and, most importantly, TO AVOID POTENTIAL LEGAL PROBLEMS FOR
THE CONTRACTOR AND MY FIRM. The easy thing would be to give in to
contractors' preferences to work 1099. My costs are lower by doing so.
However, we have been told by some of the best legal and financial
advisors in New Jersey that it is illegal to do so. In many cases, we
must give up business to adhere to this policy.

And that brings me to the proof: If I ranted against 1099 for
contractors, then allowed them to work 1099 status with my firm, your
accusations would be true: my incentive would be strictly monetary
since I would do whatever (legal or not) it took to close a deal.
However, my firm, Mendem Concord, does not employee contractors on 1099
status. All of our employees are W2 withheld for the reasons I have
publicly stated.

I hope this clears up any potential misunderstanding. I am first and
foremost a technical writing contractor myself. I work 40 plus hours
per week for a single client. In our leasure, my partner and I recruit
and place others like ourselves. It has certainly been no gravy train,
but it is satisfying to magnify my own documentation successes by
recruiting and employing others in the same work.

Dave Demyan                   ***                 Mendem Concord, Inc.
(908) 753-8500                ***                   One Mountain Blvd.
concord -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com         ***                    Warren, NJ 07059
FAX: (908) 754-8224