The Independent Contractor Trap
Most businesses use independent contractors either on a regular basis or from time to time. Operating as if a person or entity is an independent contractor; then discovering the state employment security commission, the state department of Labor or the Internal Revenue Service considers the person an employee can be disastrous. Past due worker’s compensation insurance premiums, past due taxes and additional liability can be substantial. Below is some practical information to assist you in maintaining solid independent contractor relationships:
- Use written agreements to document the relationship. The written agreement can be a powerful source of documentation of the independent nature of the relationship. As a result, it’s critical the written agreement is drafted to operate as proof of an independent contractor relationship.
- Use an Affidavit of Independent Contractor Status. This document is often considered by insurance companies to determine whether to require worker’s compensation insurance.
- File the appropriate tax documentation (federal and state).
- Be certain that it is the independent contractor that determines the manner and means to accomplish the task. You can retain control of the outcome or final product.
- Require the independent contractor to provide you with invoices prior to payment.
Check whether your name is available on over 100 social Networking & bookmarking
This week’s TechTipTuesday, Namechk.com, allows you determine whether your handle (the description you use of yourself, for instance, shawnjroberts on Twitter) is available.
Check to see if your desired username or vanity url is still available at dozens of popular Social Networking and Social Bookmarking websites. Promote your brand consistently by registering a username that is still available on the majority of the most popular sites. Find the best username with namechk.
It is also amazing to me that there is this many sites!
check your handle on over 100 sites
Thank you to Justin Lukasavige on the Coachradio.TV for this tip!
A small piece of my childhood is going out of print
I grew up in a small town (Lewiston, ID), which actually bordered on the entrance to “nowhere”, before the Internet, with only a young CNN as 24 hour news. USA Today was the source that exposed to me the most news and sports. I hear frequent criticism about the shallowness USA Today material, but when I was growing up USA Today brought a viewpoint that I didn’t find anywhere else. It is kinda sad to hear that the print version is being de-emphasized, but it seems that most hard copy news is heading in this direction.
USA Today deemphasizing print to focus on iPad, web (from www.electronista.com)
The Definitive Legal Guide to Business Selection
Considerations when starting your business (prior to world domination). These are the thoughts and accompanying concepts that one should consider when starting a business.
- Be an entity. You may have been called worse things, but this is actually not a slam. An entity, in this context, is structure that provides separation between you, your assets and your business. For example, a corporation and a limited liability company are both entities. In contrast, someone doing business under their name, with nothing more formal, is operating as a “sole proprietor”; there is no separation between personal and business.
- What type of entity should I be? Surprisingly, for legal purposes there is not a huge difference. Both a corporation and a limited liability company provide a wall of separation between their owners and the business. A corporation has shareholders, a limited liability company typically has members.
- Have your organizational documents in place. For a corporation, it is written minutes of the organizational meeting of the shareholders and board of directors, plus bylaws. For a limited liability company, it is an operating agreement.
- Protect your Intellectual Property. If you have words, pictures, symbols, code, software or an invention, take the proper steps to legally and officially claim ownership to it. It might be registering a trademark, securing a trade name, seeking copyright or even patent protection.
- Know who your employees are or are not. One of the easiest ways for a business to create a mountain of liability is to treat individuals who are actually employees as independent contractors. That means failing to withhold and do payroll properly and to secure worker’s compensation insurance. If you have any doubt about whether an individual is an employee or independent contract, talk to an attorney. You do not want to get caught in the Independent Contractor Trap.
- Maintain the regular records that are required. For a corporation, it is at least the written records of shareholders and directors meetings and other major actions. Treat the entity like it is a separate and distinct entity (separate records, separate bank accounts, etc. . .)
Screen casting tips for the iphone, Mac & more
A little late this morning with TechTipTiesday, but here nonetheless with some tremendous tips for Mac screencasting and iPhone video capture. The source is Scott Skibell (@ScottSkibell), from macscreencasting, one of the experts in the field of screenscasting. Scott, from the first video you watch, is obviously smart and capable. However, what I appreciate just as much about Scott is that his demonstration style is laid-back and easy to follow. There is no excuse to not learn soemthing while watching Scott.
Below is one of the many solid videos Scott has created on his macskillscasting web site. Visit his site or YouTube channel for many more.
“Why Contracts Are Really Your Best Friend”
“My work is being reused…by someone that I no longer consider a friend.” http://t.co/iR5Qw95
Tweet - Why contracts are really your best friend
I discovered this Tweet a few days ago and it says exactly what I am telling people on a regular basis: business relationships need to be documented with written agreements, even if (some would say particularly if) the relationship if with a friend or family. I am frequently told that requiring something in writing is “to formal” or “not necessary”. People I encounter regularly feel that asking for something in writing is sign of distrust.
Why is it distrustful to take an action that protects both parties to the relationship and could prevent a protracted legal dispute? That is precisely what creating a properly drafted written agreement provides:
- It spells out the terms of the relationship removing confusion and doubt;
- It defines and clarifies each parties’ ownership of and rights to use the work in the future;
- It promotes discussion and negotiation of terms while the parties are on good terms;
- It adds credibility to the relationship because each party was willing to “put it in writing”;
- It provides a reference to clarify disputes when issues arise.
If you have any questions about these items or want to discuss anything about contracts, please email me or call me.
How far has this guy fallen? Roger Clemens’s Perjury Indictment
The Roger Clemens perjury indictment which was released today. Roger better hope the venue for his trial is not Boston.
Is it the iPhone4, AT&T or Me?
I had an interesting (disturbing) experience making a call to a client on my iPhone4 today. Hear the story below.
Undo Send in Gmail [TechTipTuesday]
Did you ever hit the *send* button on an email and then instantly know it was wrong and to grab it, only to realize that it was gone? There is a remedy for this issue.
If you use Gmail/Google Apps you need to know about Google “Labs” which allows the user to experiment with features which that quite “ready for primetime” yet. One of first features to try is . . .
Undo Send by Yuzo FYou
This feature allows you to undo “sent” email for up to 10 seconds with the “undo” a sent email function. You may not need it often, but when you need, you REALLY need it. You can find it under the Labs button in your Gmail settings.
Google’s new motto: “Don’t be evil [to often to get caught]?
Google is well-known for its motto “Don’t be evil”, it is mentioned in the corporate Code of Conduct on Google’s website. Google has enjoyed nearly 12 years as the “good guy” alternative to the “evil giant” Microsoft. I have bought into the good image: when Google makes a mistake, I accept it as exactly that: an isolated incident rather than a pattern of conduct. Lately, I am wondering if I should reconsider my view, the mistakes are becoming to consistent and frequent:
- We are open unless you are very successful in modifying our “open” Android operating system, then you will hear from us. (I am refering to Google’s treament of CyanogenMod’s chief developer, Steve Kondik last year. See the story here.)
- Opps! we accidentally gathered your wifi information
- Woops! we snuck Buzz into your GMAil with privacy settings wide open [Now, that is what we consider "open"
]; - Were in China, oh, now were out of China, okay, maybe we are back in a little bit, trust us, we know how to handle communist regimes that govern over a billion people; and
- Just so you know, we have decided to divide up the Internet with Verizon and will be creating a new “private” Internet.
Facebook and Mark Zuckerberg are considered evil because some privacy settings were open by default. Google epxoses millions of people private contact information to the public and essentially is given a pass.
Is the “Don’t be evil” moddicker worth anything at this point? Not much in my opinion. Google is a publicly-traded company answerable to its shareholders and Board of Directors. If the company’s financial performance is poor, the shareholders are unlikely to be mollified by the refrain from management “but at least we were not evil”!