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Topic: W-2 Freelancing and Unemployment Benefits
| Author | Message |
| Mouse | Posted – 9/8/2006 2:33:40 PM | show profile Hi there. I've been working at an on-site freelance job, 1 to 3 days a week, for about 1.5 years. I filled out a W-4 form when I started; I get a W-2 form at tax time; I have state, local and federal taxes taken out of my paychecks. I am considered a freelancer. I was recently told that the company was instituting a policy whereby freelancers could only work for 90 days at a time, then they had to take 60 days off before they could work 90 days again. My question: Is this some kind of law that they haven't been observing re: freelancers? And when my 90 days are up (an arbitrary "start/end" date were chosen), am I eligible for unemployment benefits during my 60 days off? I never submitted new paperwork, signed anything new or changed to 1099 independent contractor status. I have been working steadily on the payroll well for over a year, but was told that at the end of my 90 days, I would be "purged from payroll," ineligible to work again until 60 days are up. thanks! |
| Cyrus | Posted – 9/8/2006 2:37:48 PM | show profile If you filled out a W-4, you shouldn't be considered a freelancer; W-9 forms are more typically used for that. Nevertheless, the only way you'll know for sure is to contact your state department of labor. These things differ by state. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| df | Posted – 9/8/2006 3:22:47 PM | show profile Hi, The rule in NY is if any of the below is true: You work on site, Have an e-mail address at work, A desk A phone number assigned to you You cannot determine your work hours and work place freely = You are an employee. It doesn?t matter if you sign anything or what kind of paperwork you submitted, the department of labor will most likely deem you an employee anyway. Even after a very short time e.g. working for a week. You are legible for unemployment, just like any employee. Your employer seem to try to avoid his freelancers being labeled employees. |
| dribbledrive1 | Posted – 9/8/2006 3:57:48 PM | show profile A lot of companies over the past couple of years have been changing policies to try to cover their behinds when it comes to the issue of independent contracts vs. employees. My guess is you'd be considered an employee. But I have no idea what benefits part-time employees are eligible for. |
| Mouse | Posted – 9/8/2006 4:14:54 PM | show profile I was under the impression that if you're being paid as an employee (taxes are taken out of your check, the employer is paying unemployment tax etc.), and the job ends through no fault of yours, then you are eligible. I was just wondering about this 90/60 day rule and if that would in any way jeopardize my eligibility. Evidently it's always been their "rule" but they're only now starting to observe it. |
| df | Posted – 9/8/2006 5:23:38 PM | show profile If you are in NY State - it will have no effect on your benefits. The days worked are cumulated and don't need to be in one consecutive period. For other states I can't help. |
| jazzybelle | Posted – 9/8/2006 7:43:44 PM | show profile My boyfriend has to do the 90 days on/60 days off thing at his job, he's a bus driver at a public university, and is considered a temp. He does get unemployment during the 60 days off but he does not get any medical or other benefits. In his case they lay him off on his 90th day so that they can get around the university's employment rules that once a employee works over 90 days they are eligible for healthcare and other benefits, and must join the union. |
| maphop | Posted – 9/8/2006 8:07:10 PM | show profile Mouse, this is exactly what companies like Microsoft have done in the past and been sued over - and lost. If you have a desk, if you have taxes taken out, if you're being paid by the company who hired you (as opposed to through a temp agency) you're an employee and as such are eligible for whatever benefits another part-time employee there would have. Even if the company were to hire you through a temp agency and consider you a temporary employee, after a year and a half it could be considered suspect, as it was found to be in court when companies like Microsoft attempted to keep their folks on that way, without benefits. I'm guessing that either your company's attorney counseled them or someone at the company has reported them to the labor board. |
| belinda | Posted – 9/10/2006 1:13:12 PM | show profile If you filled out a W-4 and you get a W-2, you filled out employee forms. The forms for independent contractors are something other than a W-4 for the SS# information and Form 1099 rather than W-2. |
| Mouse | Posted – 9/10/2006 5:32:31 PM | show profile I am indeed in NYC and I'm totally surprised to learn that the company could get into hot water for not paying me other benefits! Yes, I go into their offices, have a desk, a login to their computer system, get taxes taken out of my paycheck and get no health care or any other benefits. So after 90 days a company is required to offer benefits to employees? Oh my goodness. |
| Marie | Posted – 9/10/2006 7:44:42 PM | show profile You absolutely are eligible for unemployment, but the company doesn't have to pay you other benefits if you're classified as temporary. There is no state law that requires this, regardless of how many hours you are working. But, and this is a big but, some health insurers, as part of the contract conditions they have with companies, might dictate that any employee working over a certain number of hours per week or full-time for a certain number of months, must be put on the health plan. That's why companies kick people off the payroll after a while after, say, six months, or why a temporary employee's hours might be limited to 20 hours a week. |
