Robin's Ruminations

There have been some rumors floating around regarding the use of IC's in the process serving industry and the Department of Labor & Industries.  The more serious of those rumors have hinted L&I is going to eliminate the use of IC's in the process serving industry and that only employer/employee relationships will be allowed.  Frankly, this didn't seem plausible to me so I decided to go to the source and called Bill Moomau.  Bill is the Supervisor of the Classification Department at L&I.  I've found him to be a gentleman and he genuinely listens to what I and other WSPSA members have had to say.  And, most importantly, he lays it on the line - says what he means and means what he says.  Many WSPSA members may recall Bill as our speaker in Vancouver at our 2009 Annual Conference.

I spoke with Bill on the phone the other day.  The conversation lasted about 15 to 20 minutes.  I asked him point blank if it is L&I's intent to eliminate the use of IC's as process servers.  He said "No."  However, he went on to say that L&I will expect anyone using IC's to satisfy the six tests they use to determine whether a person is an employee or an IC.  I've written about these six tests before and you can read them by clicking here.  If all six of the tests are satisfied then, and only then, can the person doing the work be considered an IC.  If even a single test is failed then the person is an employee.

An interesting aspect of the entire L&I program is that it exists as much to protect the employer as it does the employee.  In fact, it was seen as a great boon to business when it was instituted.  You see, employers had a problem before L&I was created.  The problem was that when an employee was injured on the job the employee would sue the employer.  If the employee won then the employer was directly responsible for the damages suffered by the employee.  Today, the dollar amounts under that old system would be enormous.  Now I'm not saying L&I is a perfect system (it certainly could use some changes) but the alternative is almost unthinkable.

There are some big advantages (and disadvantages) to using IC's.  The "system" allows for their use and will continue to allow their use but you have to follow the rules.  Use the search tool in this blog to locate all the articles I've written on the IC topic.  Search for "independent contractors".  Each article has links to additional information.  Educate yourself on this topic and implement whatever changes are necessary to conduct your business in an ethical and legal manner.