Who Is or Isn't an Independent Contractor

[papercarrier]

I read the post from Elorei....and someone had mentioned these questions

* What instructions are given to the worker?
* Is any training provided to the worker?
* Is there a schedule of hours of work per day, week or month?
* Compensation by task – or by the hour, week or month?
* Are business and/or travel expenses paid by company or the worker?
* Is the worker full-time work at one company or working for a number companies at the same time?

Can someone explain what the significance of each one means to the law? I am an independent contractor myself and have recently just started exploring the true meaning of one.. and truthfully, I'm not liking the outcome of the laws for the newspaper carriers of the country. They differ from other independent contractors laws. Why is that and how can we go about trying to change it. After all, I am a tax paying US CITIZEN. And I should have the same rights as other Indep.Contracts' do.

Forgot to add answers:

* What instructions are given to the worker? papers are to be delivered by certain time
* Is any training provided to the worker? no/yes sometimes
* Is there a schedule of hours of work per day, week or month? hours are from 2am-6am--all papers delivered by 6am weekly and 8am weekends
* Compensation by task – or by the hour, week or month? paid weekly
* Are business and/or travel expenses paid by company or the worker? supplies are paid by agent (another independ. contract)but we use our own vehicle and pay for gas/maintence ect.
* Is the worker full-time work at one company or working for a number companies at the same time? it's part time most weeks---but can be full time other weeks

Thanks for any insight

[chuckycheese]

I would suggest you look at the IRS directive regarding establishing which designation is appropriate. It's a little ambiguous but, all in all, it's fairly well-written.

[Mr. Knowitall]

News carriers have been classified as independent contractors pretty much since the vocation first arose. The issue of whether news carriers should be independent contractors has arisen at times, particularly in the context of children (who, as independent contractors, don't get worker's comp if hit by a car while delivering papers). Despite that history I'm not aware of any jurisdiction, anywhere, that has considered reclassifying news carriers as employees.

[chuckycheese]

I'm sure that's true because, technically, the carrier buys the newspapers from the company and resells them to the public. (At least that was the way it worked a zillion years ago when I was a paperboy.)