Employee or Independent Contractor Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Utah Texas Tennessee Tennessee

[pjsa59]

Iworked for a "home building/construction company" for the past few months. They say I am an independent contractor. But...... I worked as an administrative assistant, the office manager set my hours 8:00am to 4:30pm Monday thru Friday. Today I will pick up my last check. In the past couple of months many "pay checks" have bounced for "insufficient funds". When I pick my check up today, if it isn't honored at the bank, what legal recourse do I have in the state of Tennessee? [/color]

[Pattymd]

If the employer set your hours, had the right to control your work, you did not have the opportunity to incur a loss or earn a profit (other than your compensation) from your work, etc., you were an employee, not an independent contractor. I'd start with the state Dept. of Labor; they'd be interested in discovering an employer who was paying workers who were really employees "under the table".

I'd also file for unemployment insurance benefits. They will contact the employer and the employer will have to explain the reasoning for not treating you as an employee. I doubt they can do it.

[pjsa59]

I guess you answered my question as to recourse if my check "bounces". I will contact the Department of Labor either way. I also worked a lot of overtime for which I was never compensated.

[Pattymd]

Yep, then file for that, too. It makes me when employers do this, because there are so many that bust their tail trying to comply with a myriad of laws.

Good luck.

[pjsa59]

These "companies" are really shady to say the least. The reason I left so abruptly is that the last day I was there, I had to "lie" for the office manager and the "president", because creditors and sub-contractors were calling demanding money owed to them. I mainly didn't want my name associated with a company that does business in that manner. They write checks like it's no problem if there aren't sufficient funds to cover them. And then hide behind everyone else in the office when it comes time to explain why the check didn't clear. I'm pretty sure there is something illegal going on here, it's just hard to say what.

[Pattymd]

I know what you're saying. I worked for a company many years ago that would cut accounts payable checks on four different regional accounts, then hold them. They'd wait until the vendor threatened to sue, then pull the check out of a file cabinet and send it to them. Of course, by that time, either the account had been closed or the signatories had changed and, of course, the bank rejected payment on the checks. I didn't stay there long either.