Employee or independent contractor

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nybbles

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New Jersey
I run a business (single-member LLC). I sometimes need extra help for a particular job so I hire a friend (pay anywhere from $75-200). Generally this happens once or twice a year, but sometimes a year goes by without the need for help.

Under ABC...

a. I tell my friend what to do and when to do it. For the particular job I even transport my friend to the job site (remote location from my office).

b. Work is performed on my client's worksite. The work I have my friend do is in fact complementary to the work I do. Basically setup and take down equipment. It would be work I would perform myself if time constraints were not an issue. Hence why I hire him.

c. My friend only does this work for me and does not offer this service to others.

Is he an employee and should I worry about collecting taxes/paying benefits/WC insurance??? Seems insane for under $500 per year. But NJ's new bill is making me wonder if I will get away with taking in these larger gigs.
 
Is he an employee

Yes.

should I worry about collecting taxes/paying benefits/WC insurance???

Yes, you should be doing all of that.

Seems insane for under $500 per year.

You won't think that's a lot of money compared to the financial consequences of something going wrong. Not the least of which is the possibility that he could get crippled while working for you and you'd have to support him for the rest of his life. That may seem extreme but I was in the insurance business for 35 years and I've seen it happen. Especially to people who once said "Won't happen to me."

If you don't want to collect taxes, pay WC and UI, then hire a company to do the occasional work, that is already doing all that.
 
I agree that he is an employee.

I'd suggest you hire him through a temp firm. They will handle taxes and WC.
 
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