Employee vs 1099: What to Look For In Your Next Job

First of all, I want to mention that I’m not a lawyer…  so if you think you have a problem with your employer or how you’re paid, you should probably contact an employment lawyer.  I did my research using various law firm websites including a local employment law attorney, Drew Lewis.

Over the past decade I’ve had the opportunity to work in several different work environments.  I’ve owned my own gym website design business, I’ve worked as a coach for a CrossFit gym, I’ve worked full time for a law firm marketing company, and I’ve taken on dozens and dozens of freelance website design jobs.

So what have I learned over the years?

When I coached at a CrossFit gym, I was paid as an independent contractor… even though I found out later on that legally I was actually supposed to be considered an employee.  

This “independent contractor” status meant:

• Not being paid for setting up and breaking down for class.  Since I was paid “per class”, this extra time likely added up to a few hours each week of unpaid work.
• Not getting a paid break.  Although my work shift was 3hrs, setup and breakdown would have easily put me over the 3.5hrs needed to get a paid break.  I definitely could have used a 10m break to sit down and stare at a wall.
• No paid sick time.  If I needed to take time off for sickness, I didn’t get paid for it.
• No unemployment insurance.  I wasn’t exactly needing unemployment insurance when I worked for the gym, but I knew some coworkers that could have used it when they were let go.

I thought that being an independent contractor was a better situation at the time, now I’m not so sure… at a $15/hr rate, that could have easily added up to $3,750 in unpaid wages over the course of a year, not to mention penalties and interest.  

My advice to anyone that is an independent contractor and relies on a single employer for most of their work - make sure you’re not actually an employee.  It could be costing you tens of thousands of dollars in unpaid wages each year.