A commentator on a TV news show recently talked about new developments involving the ride company Uber.\u00a0 \u00a0The commentator remarked that Uber has made sure to set up its procedures so drivers are independent contractors, not employees.<\/p>\n
The dilemma over independent contractors versus employees is nothing new.\u00a0 It\u2019s just expanding and affecting more of us with changes in the way Americans do business.<\/p>\n
This was cited as a major trend at a national conference of workers’ compensation professionals.\u00a0 \u00a0The International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions (IAIABC), meeting in April in Santa Fe, noted how new businesses like Uber are blurring the lines between employment and self-employment.\u00a0 This could lead, some participants said, to significant changes in how workers are protected, if they are protected at all.<\/p>\n
Workers’ compensation is provided by almost all employers to employees. Employees injured at work are entitled to medical care with no deductibles or copays and, if unable to work due to the injury, cash benefits as a partial wage replacement.<\/p>\n
Workers\u2019 comp is part of the social safety net mandated for employed workers. This includes the right to get paid for their time including extra pay for overtime. The safety net also includes unemployment insurance for workers who get laid off, employer contributions to the worker\u2019s Social Security and other benefits.<\/p>\n
Self-employed people don\u2019t get any of those protections.\u00a0 If you\u2019re self-employed and get injured, or if you\u2019re a consultant and your contract doesn\u2019t renew, you\u2019re on your own.<\/p>\n
But if you\u2019re the business owner starting a new business with limited capital, you have incentives to set it up so the people who work with you are independent contractors like Uber drivers.\u00a0 Being an employer may be more responsibility than you can handle.<\/p>\n
Self-employment is common in New Mexico. According to the New Mexico Economic Development Department, in 2013\u00a0there were about 119,195\u00a0nonemployer businesses in New Mexico, and roughly 43,737 employer establishments.<\/p>\n
All those self-employed people are not protected.<\/p>\n
In workers’ compensation, two big questions determine whether an injury is covered or not.\u00a0 First, is the person an employee?\u00a0 Second, when the accident occurs, is this person at work or not at work?\u00a0 In real life, the answers are not necessarily simple.<\/p>\n
If you work in a factory and get a paycheck, you\u2019re an employee.\u00a0 You\u2019re at work when you\u2019re inside the building.\u00a0 When you step out the door (or drive out of the parking lot), you\u2019re not.<\/p>\n
But what if your boss asks you to stop at the post office on your way home?\u00a0 Are you covered if there\u2019s an accident?\u00a0 What if you\u2019re working at home and dividing your time between writing a report and doing your laundry? \u00a0Those gray areas are one reason cases get litigated.<\/p>\n
What if your \u201cemployer\u201d makes you sign a contract saying you\u2019re an independent contractor? \u00a0That actually has a simple answer (in the past my job was to explain this to new business owners, who didn\u2019t believe me). \u00a0The contract is meaningless and unenforceable.\u00a0 Whether you are an employee or a contractor depends on several conditions, such as whether you control your own time.\u00a0 The IRS has a set of guidelines.\u00a0 The workers’ compensation system does not necessarily follow them. That\u2019s another reason cases get litigated.<\/p>\n
Participants at the IAIABC meeting suggested we might start hearing again about sweeping changes to the old protections, to provide equal coverage regardless of employment status. This concept was once called 24-hour coverage.\u00a0 We don\u2019t have it because after years of national debate nobody could figure out how to make it work or who pays for it.<\/p>\n
And the argument about Uber will continue.<\/p>\n
Triple Spaced Again, \u00a9 New Mexico News Services 2016<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A commentator on a TV news show recently talked about new developments involving the ride company Uber.\u00a0 \u00a0The commentator remarked that Uber has made sure to set up its procedures so drivers are independent contractors, not employees. The dilemma over … Continue reading