Joanne Underhill & Associates, P.C.
The misclassification of employees as something other than employees, such as independent contractors, presents a serious problem for affected employees, employers, and to the entire economy.
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RSSGreenwood Village, CO (PRWEB) September 03, 2014
Lawmakers in several states, including Colorado, have passed laws with strict rules over which workers can be considered independent contractors. These rules are now being enforced through audits by the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. All Colorado businesses using independent contractors will eventually be audited by the State of Colorado to determine if employees have been incorrectly classified as independent contractors. If they do, the state will demand retroactive payment of several years of unpaid payroll taxes for these contractors.
At Joanne Underhill & Associate, P.C.’s free workshops, co-presented by attorneys Joanne Underhill and Colin Moriarty, business owners will learn how to protect themselves. This is their first in a series of free workshops being presented for the business community. To register, please sign up at http://www.underhilllaw.com/news.
“The independent contractor rules are being enforced now more than ever, and Colorado businesses are learning the hard way. We are here to educate our business owners before they are audited. Taking the correct steps, now, can potentially avoid hundreds of thousands of dollars of retroactive payroll taxes being assessed on businesses using independent contractors,” said Joanne Underhill.
The IRS also audits companies who use independent contractors. Since 2011, the Wage and Hour Division has signed cooperative agreements with the IRS and 15 states, including Colorado, to fight misclassification. According to the United States Department of Labor’s website, “The misclassification of employees as something other than employees, such as independent contractors, presents a serious problem for affected employees, employers, and to the entire economy.”
The misclassification issue has broader implications. FedEx has been in the news recently because of its decision to classify its delivery drivers as independent contractors. On Wednesday, August 27, 2014, a federal appeals court ruled in a class action brought on behalf of 2,300 drivers working for FedEx in California that the drivers had been misclassified as independent contractors instead of employees. FedEx faces millions of dollars’ worth of employment-based claims from its drivers, as well as tax problems.
Joanne Underhill has been practicing law for thirty-five years, focusing her current practice on Colorado businesses in business transactions, tax problems, real estate issues, and governance issues, including disputes among the owners of a business. She has been accredited with the Internal Revenue Service since 1998 to represent taxpayers to the Service. In addition to practicing law, the Greenwood Village community may know Joanne from her involvement in developing Silo Park and Westlands Park while she chaired the Greenwood Village Parks, Trails and Recreation Commission.
Colin Moriarty is a trial attorney who focuses on business and commercial litigation, including business disputes, federal employment discrimination lawsuits, construction and fabrication defect claims, subcontractor litigation, state RICO fraud lawsuits, a telecommunications law dispute, and other lawsuits involving complex issues and remedies.
Joanne Underhill & Associates, P.C. is located at 7350 East Progress Place, Suite 110, Greenwood Village, CO 80111. For more information about the workshops or to schedule a consultation, please call 303-721-7112.
About Joanne Underhill & Associates, P.C.
Joanne Underhill & Associates, P.C.’s practice focuses on businesses and their owners in the following areas: business partners, growth, and governance, business and commercial transactions, tax and financial problems, real estate, contractors and subcontractors, government disputes and lawsuits and arbitrations.
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