Income Generation and Side Hustles
“Misclassified” or Mistreated? A Guide & Quiz
Do you think that the side hustle platform you’re working through is mistreating you — forcing you into unpaid training, long hours without extra time or just not paying you for the entire hours you’re employed? The sort of mistreatment suggests that you just’ve been “misclassified.” And, in that case, you may be due tons of — possibly even hundreds — of dollars in back pay.
The Department of Labor, which enforces minimum wage law, believes that hundreds of corporations could also be “misclassifying” their employees by calling them “independent contractors.” By doing that, they rob employees of tens of millions of dollars in wages and advantages. Nevertheless it’s as much as you to find out whether you’ve been “misclassified” or are simply mistreated.
Misclassified?
How do you realize? It requires a little bit of background to clarify. There are essentially two varieties of employees: (1) individuals who work for another person as employees and (2) individuals who work for themselves as self-employed independent contractors. Employees get job security and reliable pay; but independent contractors get freedom to work when and the way they need.
Nonetheless, because of hundreds of corporations starting from Lugg and Handy to Fiverr and Rover, that provide work “marketplaces,” the lines between independent contractors and employees have blurred. That’s because a few of these marketplaces impose employee-like restrictions on the independent contractors who find jobs through them. Does that make them employees? That depends.
The Department of Labor will start enforcing recent rules in March that aim to delineate who’s an worker and who’s an independent contractor. It’s a fancy, multi-part test. The editors of SideHusl.com created a 25-question quiz based on the upcoming rules that ought to make it easier to work out which side of that line you fall on.
It’s vital to notice that the law delineating who’s an worker and who’s self-employed is murky. There are not any vivid lines. But, the upper you rating on this quiz, the more likely it’s that you just’re an worker — not a self-employed independent contractor. And if that’s the case, you may be due as much as two-years value of lost wages, plus penalties that would double the damages. (See “Your Motion Plan” below.)
Scoring
Give yourself 4 points for each (A) answer; and 0 points for every (B) answer.
The quiz
1. Were you given job training, with an expectation that you just would perform future job duties as you were trained to?
(a) yes (b) no
2. Are you penalized for those who get your work done effectively, but in a way that deviates out of your training?
(a) yes (b) no
3. Are you told where and what times to work?
(a) yes (b) no
4. Are you penalized for those who don’t show up promptly?
(a) yes (b) no
5. Does the platform have any say over the tools you utilize for work? In other words, can it decline your application based on the automobile you drive or the cleansing materials you utilize?
(a) yes (b) no
Uniforms and supplies
6. Are you required to wear an organization uniform/t-shirt or emblem?
(a) yes (b) no
7. Would you be penalized for those who didn’t wear that uniform?
(a) yes (b) no
8. Are you given instruction on where or what to buy with regard to work-related supplies?
(a) yes (b) no
Evaluations
9. Are you evaluated in your performance?
(a) yes (b) no
10. Are these evaluations based on whether you accomplished a job successfully, or on whether you accomplished the job following the corporate’s guidelines?
(a) how the job was accomplished — i.e. whether it was accomplished via company guidelines (b) I’m only evaluated on whether the job was accomplished successfully or well
11. Do your evaluations have an effect on what the corporate means that you can do?
(a) yes (b) no
Other work
12. Are you capable of search out other business opportunities with multiple corporations, including competitors of the corporate or corporations for whom you’re employed?
(a) no (b) yes
13. Do you, actually, work with many corporations in any given yr, with nobody company providing the majority of your income?
(a) no (b) yes
Details
14. Does the corporate pay your expenses, from tolls and costs to paying for mileage and supplies?
(a) yes (b) no
15. Are you paid by the hour or by the job?
(a) hour (b) job
16. Do you’re employed under a written contract (which might be a site’s “terms and conditions”)?
(a) no (b) yes
17. Is there an anticipated end date in your work arrangement, or are you working for an indefinite period?
(a) indefinite period (b) working until a selected project is accomplished, though the time might be prolonged if the project requires more time than anticipated
18. Do you receive any worker advantages, reminiscent of medical insurance or access to a retirement plan?
(a) yes (b) no
19. Is the service you provide a key element in the corporate’s business?
(a) yes (b) no
Control
20. Are you able to turn down assignments without penalty?
(a) no (b) yes
21. Are you given enough information to find out whether a job can be profitable for you?
(a) not necessarily (b) yes. And, if it’s not clear, I can ask
22. Who sets your wages?
(a) the corporate (b) I set my very own rates
23. Are you able to earn a better hourly wage by being smart, strategic or efficient about the way you complete your work?
(a) not likely (b) yes
24. Are you able to communicate directly along with your clients, or must you undergo an intermediary at the corporate through which you’re employed?
(a) I need to undergo the corporate to speak with clients (b) I communicate directly with my clients
25. Do you — or the corporate — have control over the scope of any given job? This includes services, revisions and the project deadlines.
(a) that’s controlled by the corporate I work through (b) I negotiate the scope of the work with each client.
Your rating
Count your (a) answers and multiply by 4. The closer your total rating is to 100, the more likely you’re an worker, slightly than an independent contractor.
Motion plan
In case you scored high on this quiz, consider filing a complaint with the Department of Labor. The DOL enforces labor laws and may sue corporations that misclassify their employees. In lots of cases, these suits end in employees receiving back wages. And, if an organization has egregious or repeat violations, employees can stand up to twice as much as they’re owed in penalties.
Can’t file online? You’ll be able to reach the Department of Labor by phone at 1-866-4US-WAGE.
Ensure to maintain track of the entire hours you’re working to get the total amount you’re due. The Department of Labor offers a smart phone app to make tracking your hours easier here.
2/12/2024
