Can I Use 1099 Employees in My Business?

The Legal Risk of Hiring Independent Contractors

Many small businesses, especially at the beginning, bring on independent contractors rather than W2 employees to help. This is sometimes to save money, and sometimes because you are not sure you have regular hours available.

What you need to know is that it is very difficult to meet the Massachusetts test for independent contractors. Anyone who does not fit all of the three requirements below (with some limited exceptions) will be considered an employee.

Here are the three requirements:

The contractor is free from control and direction in their work.
The contractor offers the same services to others.
The work they do is not part of your core business.

The penalties for misclassifying someone as an independent contractor can easily wipe out any savings you have realized. In addition, it is not as complicated or as expensive as it may seem to classify them as employees, and still give them as little or as much work as you choose.

Learn more here about hiring independent contractors in Massachusetts.