YOUR COMMENTS

@Judy in Derry:

You are dead wrong about people holding themselves out as independent contractors (aka running a business) to make more money. Businesses, who are cheating this law by improperly classifying employees, typically do so for two reasons: 1) to avoid paying worker's comp, and 2) to avoid paying matching withholding tax (as an employee, you pay 7.65% in social security tax and your employer matches it), which then is picked up under the self-employment of 15.3% (here the independent pays both halves).

So people hold themselves out as contractors so they can pay an addition 7.65% in tax? Yeah, right.

You may bring home more gross because there is no one taking out your taxes, but by the time you finish paying them, you have paid more.

The reasons for being a legitimate independent contractor, and I have been one for 12 years, are that you have more freedom, you can drop bad clients, and yes, you do have the potential to make more provided you work your butt off, usually working for many clients.
- Kevin, Merrimack

What bad economy? Its just business as usual for the bureaucrats. People out of work….oh well not their problem. They still pick up their paycheck curtsey of the taxpayer at the end of the week regardless of what is happening in the real world. Apparently it needs to get much worse before we realize the system is broken. And by system I mean from the federal level down. It’s coming. History shows that every great society eventually succumbs to it’s own red tape. We are no different. We are so concerned about making sure we protect ourselves form ourselves that eventually we can’t do anything without big brothers ok. Live free or die? Well we aren’t living free so......
- Tim, Concord

What bad economy? Its just business as usual for the bureaucrats. People out of work….oh well not their problem. They still pick up their paycheck curtsey of the taxpayer at the end of the week regardless of what is happening in the real world. Apparently it needs to get much worse before we realize the system is broken. And by system I mean from the federal level down. It’s coming. History shows that every great society eventually succumbs to it’s own red tape. We are no different. We are so concerned about making sure we protect ourselves form ourselves that eventually we can’t do anything without big brothers ok. Live free or die? Well we aren’t living free so…..
- Tim, Concord

Here's the real deal:
1) Workers compensation insurance rates are excessive in NH.
2) People hold themelves out as Independent Contractors so they can make more money UNTIL they get hurt. Then all of the sudden they want to be an employee so they can be compensated.
3) DOL sees all these cases and are then thinking the Businesses are trying to pull a fast one.
It's not an easy fix. But I'm not sure that all the blame lies on businesses trying to beat the system. Entitlement and our sue happy society doesn't help either.
- Judy, Derry

Here is a link to the 12-prong test:

http://www.labor.state.nh.us/CriteriatoEstablishanEmployeeorIndependentContr_010108.pdf
- Kevin, Merrimack

Just as they always have said, work for the State and you are lazy. Four agency's to do the job of one. The lay offs did not affect the these departments. Live free or die what happened to that, I do think its all about the money that the state is not getting. So all you have to do to get around the system is let them come and go as they please and do a contract for the work and get them a tax ID number with the feds. And his new job title is sanitation supervisor.
- John, Candia

What needs to be realized, is that it is not a choice whether a worker wants to be an independent contractor or employee. There are specific criteria to be met, to protect the worker from being exploited, and forced to work without protections. The criteria also allow those who are truly in business for themselves to continue to operate in that fashion.

No one wants injured workers to be turned away from workers compensation when they are truly employees who should be covered, and no one wants workers to be able to exploit the system by asking for higher wages as an independent contractor, then claiming to be employees when it suits them.
- Melissa, Concord

This healthcare reform goes further than anyone can imagine. America has been rented out.
- Linda, Derry

@John, Dover
FedEx Ground (with the green "EX") drivers are independent contractors. FedEX Express (with the red "EX") drivers are salaried employees whose wages are not tied directly to each piece that they deliver. That makes a big quality of service difference between FedEx Ground and FedEX Express.
- David R, Manchester

It takes four state agencies and a12 prong test to ensure the government is getting "their share"? It sounds more like stifling free and open competition to me. And especially at the expense of the small business owner who must spend more of his time jumping through bureaucratic hoops - and what about the person who just happens to WANT to be an independent. It's time to get back to the siimpler way of life starting with getting government off our backs.
- Sandy, Thornton

What a lot of people dont realize, if a worker from a contractor who is not covered by workmans comp is injured on your property, the worker can sue you the homeowner.

Contractors are famous for calling their workers non employees so they dont have to pay the tax's or workmans comp.

Thus alowing them to bid jobs cheaper.

The way to tell if a person is a independent contractors, is by this rule.

If the employeee tells the worker when to show for work, pays an hourly wage, and tells the employee what to do, then they are an employee and must be covered by workmans comp insurance.

They are an independant contractor when they are given a set amount of money to do a specific duty and can show up to do the job when they want. Even then they become a sub contractor and should be providing proof of insurance to the contractor.

UL and some fed ex delivery people own their own vehicle and are a sub contractor and must show proof of insurance to get a contract with fed ex and UL.

You people that blame the government would be first to blame the government when an uninsured gets hurt on your property and sues you. It happens all the time.
- Randy, Amherst

I agreed with the 5 prong test which provided fair protection for workers when the test was followed honestly. I disagree with the 12 prong test, which unnecessarily restricts people who truly wish to operate as independent contractors. It hinders opportunities for many professional workers who do much better financially when they can claim their significant professional expenses as a cost of doing business. It restricts businesses from hiring independent workers in a flexible and fair manner. Since the issue was compliance, the focus should have been on monitoring the 5 prong test. Instead we have created a terrible set of rules that restricts good business practices on both sides! This does not help NH workers or NH business.
- Hollis McGuire, Nashua

And if a guy's willing to work seven 10-hour days a week at straight pay, who cares?

And if they want to work every holiday, that's their business.

And if they agree to breath dangerous vapors, climb rickety scaffolding, use ill-maintained equipment or only take two five minute breaks, it's their decision.

If not, the employer can just hire illegal immigrants for those jobs "that Americans won't do."

The bottom line is this: if you want to run a business you have certain responsibilities to live up to. Don't like it? Vote and get involved to change laws you don't like.

You cowboys don't get it. You want the wild wild west and you're getting it. Well, actually the immigrants are getting it more than you are these days. You can't compete with them if it's all about who works cheapest. Hotel jobs--gone. Restaurants--forget it. Factories--huh? Call centers--not here. Construction--going, going...

You don't get it. There isn't going to be a big fence or a large deportation program. EVER! Why would businesses allow you to deport their most profitable employees?
- Jerry, Derry

All of you who see this as big goverment picking on small businesses are idiots. These laws stop businesses that want to cheat. What happens when someone gets hurt on the job?
- Tom, Manchester

What a joke. Good thing that this will mainly affect men (who have taken the most job loses). So, who cares, right?
- Kevin, Portsmouth, NH

I agree with the other posters here - it is between the company doing the hiring and the worker. If a worker is willing to do the job as an independent without benefits, then why should anyone have the power to say no?
- Betsy, Manchester, NH

So let me see. I need a job and I have an employer tell me he will pay me $x/hour. I say yes. Then, the wonderful bureaucrats come in and tell him he can't pay me without paying a bunch of ransom money to the state so he decides he can't afford to hire me anymore and lets me go. And this is all for "my protection" of course.

Seems like a perfectly useless government "service." Perhaps these state employees can be the next to go.
- CDR, Lebanon

Fed Ex is guilty of this.

I'll just say, one of their "drivers" did something very stupid in my yard, I call and am told Fed Ex has nothing to do with it since the driver is an independent contractor.

What a joke.
- John, Dover

LOL For a government that has done nothing to help business it seems to have little problem tightening the noose around the neck of business while pretending to be sticking up for the little guy. This sounds like yet another plan that will slow down hiring workers.

By hiring people as contract labor business saves money because the contract laborer is responsible for declaring their own income and the paper work that goes along with it. It’s a cost savings that can be passed along to customers or invested into the business to ensure growth and more hiring. But then government has little clue about saving money when it can simply raise taxes every time it needs more as we have all just lived through. Any business that ran itself like out state government does would be out of business in its first year of operation.
- Deb, Derry

I sure hope they do not check on the UL and all it's contractor delivery people.......
- Scott, Manchester