A Michigan farm has come under fire for misclassifying its workers as independent contractors, according to Staffing Industry Analysts. The farm also failed to comply with record-keeping provisions regarding taxes and insurance.
According to the ruling by the federal judge, the farm must treat its workers as employees, which means it must fill out the necessary tax and insurance forms, along with paying minimum wage.
Darryl Jones, owner of the farm, employed about 38 workers, and his farm is small. Complying with the many government regulations about employees will be difficult without a dedicated HR person who knows the rules. Such a person would have to be treated as an employee as well, unless an hr outsourcing services firm were hired.
Even if a company doesn't run a farm, it can still get in trouble for falsely calling employees contract workers.The safest way around this is to hire through an employer of record. In such an example, the employer of record has all of the responsibility, including paperwork and insurance fees.
According to the Buffalo News, more temp workers than ever are being hired full-time. Even if a company decides it doesn't want to deal with the hassle that comes with a full-time workforce, it may be a good idea to "try before you buy" and consider a worker after testing him or her in the workplace. If management thinks that an employee would benefit the company, than that worker should be hired, and the rest of the temps can simply remain temps.
