Florida Worker Misclassified as an Independent Contractor

As a business owner and employer, you will have to make several decisions about how to staff your workforce. One issue that may be important is whether you will use employees or independent contractors to support your operations. It’s essential to recognize the distinctions between these two types of workers so you can avoid problems down the road. Recently, one Florida employer made the mistake of treating an employee as an independent contractor and is now facing considerable financial consequences. Here is more on the Florida worker misclassified as an independent contractor.

Mason v. Pathfinders for Independence, Inc.

In April of 2022, a Florida federal court found that a personal care attendant working for a Tampa-based home health care agency had been misclassified as an independent contractor.

The plaintiff worked as a personal support staff and living coach for multiple agency clients. She claimed she regularly provided 24-hour care for the agency’s clients and often worked 84 hours per week. The agency classified the employee as an independent contractor. As such, the plaintiff could not be paid overtime when she worked more than 40 hours per week.

Failure to properly pay overtime wages to a non-exempt worker violates the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). When an employer is shown to have willfully violated the FSLA, it places them at risk of having to pay liquidated damages. The worker brought suit under the Act and successfully proved that she had been misclassified as an independent contractor.

The “Economic Realities Test”

The reviewing federal court used a version of the six-part “economic realities” test to evaluate the plaintiff’s status as an employee or independent contractor. In doing so, the judge found that the worker met 5 out of the 6 possible test factors. The test includes the following factors:

1. The nature and degree of the alleged employer’s control over the alleged employee’s work.
2. The alleged employee’s opportunity for profit or loss depends on their managerial skills.
3. Whether the alleged employee’s services required a special skill.
4. The permanency and duration of the working relationship.
5. The extent to which the services are an integral part of the alleged employer’s business.
6. The alleged employee’s investment in equipment or materials and employment of other workers.

Upon review, the only factor the plaintiff did not meet was having invested in equipment or materials. The court also found that the employer had reason to know they were in violation of the FSLA’s overtime provision because of two prior Department of Labor (DOL) investigations regarding the same issue.

Independent Contractor v. Employee

The moral of this story can be summarized as follows—be careful when you call a worker an independent contractor. The distinctions between an independent contractor and an employee are important, and you don’t want to make a misclassification mistake. The good news is that you can take steps to safeguard your business and avoid making this error.

The best way to evaluate your workforce classification needs is by working with an experienced business law attorney. Your business law lawyer can help you understand the difference between an independent contractor and an employee and determine how to address your business’s needs while protecting your interests.

Contact an Experienced Florida Business Attorney

Attorney Richard Sierra at the Florida Small Business Center assists clients like you with commercial leasing, business, and litigation matters. As always, Our Goal Is to Help You Succeed™. For an appointment, you may call us at 1-866-842-5202 or use the contact form on our website. We represent clients throughout the State of Florida, including Coral Springs, Coconut Creek, Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Pompano Beach, Sunrise, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Deerfield Beach, Stuart, Port St. Lucie, Orlando, Naples, Fort Myers, Sarasota, Tampa, and surrounding communities.