Can a 1099 Employee Be Fired

[golfer123]

I was a CONTRACT employee in Texas for a Louisiana company for a short period of time. I was "let go" and told my services were no longer needed. I got unemployment and now the company is saying I was fired for misconduct. How can a 1099 employee be fired?

[PattyPA]

There is no such thing as a "1099 employee". There is either an employee (who gets a W-2 form) or an independent contractor (who gets a 1099-MISC form).

Which were you?

[cbg]

Let's get our terms straight, first. There is no such thing as a 1099 employee.

If you get a 1099 at the end of the year, you are not an employee; you are an independent contractor. If you get a W-2 at the end of the year, you are an employee. You cannot be an employee and get a 1099 - they are mutually exclusive.

An IC cannot technically be fired; however, they can have their contract canceled (as long as nothing in the contract says otherwise). It amounts to the same thing.

Now, it is possible that you did not meet the definition of an IC and that you should have been classified as an employee. However, if that is the case, there is no question that an employee can be fired.

[golfer123]

Sorry! I was a Contract Employee. The person who answered the unemployment person for the reason I left was not my boss, and not the one who told me my services were no longer needed. SHE is in Louisiana. Me and my attorney I worked for were in Texas, but worked for the LA office.

[cbg]

If you were an employee with a contract, you got a W-2 at the end of the year. If you received a 1099 at the end of the year, you were NOT an employee at all, but an IC.

One more time; which were you?

[golfer123]

Maybe this will help:

I was a contract employee, part time, doing legal work for an attorney in Houston whose company was in Louisiana. Only he and I were in Houston. I received my checks from Louisiana that paid me my full amount of time, no withholdings at all.

The unemployment papers show that the office manager from Louisiana said I was a contract employee and was fired for beling late one day. My attorney in Houston said my services were no longer needed. He never communicated with her...

My question is, if I was a contract employee, can I even be "fired"?

[cbg]

Okay, we'll forget the definitions for now. But you were NOT a contract employee, or an employee of any kind, unless you get a W-2 at the end of the year. If you got a 1099 at the end of the year, YOU WERE NOT AN EMPLOYEE.

Does your contract SPECIFICALLY say that you cannot be fired, or that you can only be fired under certain conditions, or give exact dates that you will be employed between?

If so, then the terms of the contract hold. If not, then yes, you can be fired. Regardless of what you call yourself.

[golfer123]

Ok, then tell me this... This is why I was "let go". I was late on Friday, 15 minutes. When I got there, I told him my car was stolen, which I thought it was. After several calls, found out it was repossessed. I sent an email to my friend and told her what happened. Over the weekend, they read all of my emails. On Monday, when I came in, he said I lied to him about my car and my contract services were no longer needed.

[LawResearcherMissy]

I was a contract employee, part time, doing legal work for an attorney in Houston whose company was in Louisiana. Only he and I were in Houston. I received my checks from Louisiana that paid me my full amount of time, no withholdings at all.

You were not a "contract employee". You were an independent contractor. There is a difference.

What were the exact terms of your agreement with the person you were contracting for? Did you have an actual contract? Just a vague verbal agreement? An open ended agreement with no definitive end date?

[cbg]

Ok, then tell me this... This is why I was "let go". I was late on Friday, 15 minutes. When I got there, I told him my car was stolen, which I thought it was. After several calls, found out it was repossessed. I sent an email to my friend and told her what happened. Over the weekend, they read all of my emails. On Monday, when I came in, he said I lied to him about my car and my contract services were no longer needed.

Does your contract SPECIFICALLY state the terms under which you can be let go? If not, then you can be fired. Period. Nothing in your last post changes that answer.