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Thread: should i be ic or employee

  1. #1
    God/dess anomar's Avatar
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    Default should i be ic or employee

    Hi there,
    I just got a job and I have the option of either being an independent contractor or employee. It pays the same both ways (15/hr, no benefits). What is the better option? I'd get paid 2x/month either way. Part of me thinks it'd be better to get W2s since I don't and it would really help me not fuck up on the whole short-on-my-taxes problem.

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: should i be ic or employee

    Quote Originally Posted by anomar View Post
    Hi there,
    I just got a job and I have the option of either being an independent contractor or employee. It pays the same both ways (15/hr, no benefits). What is the better option? I'd get paid 2x/month either way. Part of me thinks it'd be better to get W2s since I don't and it would really help me not fuck up on the whole short-on-my-taxes problem.
    Dude, then be W-2 so that your employer pays 1/2 of your FICA. All things being equal with that job, that's the way to go. Unless you want to pay an extra 15% of your earnings out in taxes?

    What a sly employer, giving the option. Actually, said employer could be sidestepping some labor laws in having some employees as IC, and some as W2....

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: should i be ic or employee

    ^^^ also, W2 employers will wind up having to purchase state unemployment insurance and workmen's comp to cover you ... as well as paying the employer's 7.6% share of SSI taxes to match your employee 7.6% (as an IC you get stuck paying the entire 15.3% yourself). But I would check the fine print in regard to the pay rate being the same, since the employer's cost of SSI and insurance isn't exactly trivial.

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    Default Re: should i be ic or employee

    I feel smart because I was going to say what Katrine said. Plus, you'll be paying taxes (with the w-2), so you won't have to worry about quarterlies (if stripping is/ was your only source of income).

    I'm wondering why your employer would give that option (other than simply being sly). How lame would it be to hope that people would just go, "More money at the moment I get my paycheck? Yay!" so that he wouldnt' have to pay up.
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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    Banned Melonie's Avatar
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    Default Re: should i be ic or employee

    Well, there are other considerations for clubowners located in certain states. For example California has more or less put into effect case law that states that dancers must be considered as 'statutory employees' ... although the state has been extremely slow to do much in the way of enforcement outside of specific lawsuits (DejaVu).

    Also, money paid out in the form of employee paychecks and employee benefits (SSI, comp, unemployment insurance etc.) can be written off by the club's accountant against profits, which can result in a lower tax bracket.

    On the non-financial side, if dancers are employees then their employer the club actually 'owns' the product of their work i.e. lap dances. This provides legal justification for the club retaining any percentage of lap dance sales revenue they choose. This is opposed to independent contractor dancers (who retain ownership of their lap dances) being subject to 'illegal' charges by the club if the club tries to collect a percentage of their lap dance money. Same questionable legality argument goes for clubs that enforce specific shift schedules, specific work rules (i.e. you must first work a tuesday before you can work a friday), etc. which arguably all constitute an 'employer' level of control.

    Again, where enforcement is concerned, this stuff really only seems to matter when dancers bring a specific lawsuit against a club. In the past, though, such lawsuits have generally been decided in favor of the dancer(s). However, if the club were to offer the dancer(s) the voluntary option up front of being an 'employee' or being an 'independent contractor', then from a legal standpoint the possibility of future dancer lawsuits succeeding in a similar fashion will be greatly reduced - since essentially all past lawsuits of this nature have been based on the legal principle involuntary mis-classification at the hands of the clubowner.

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    Banned Katrine's Avatar
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    Default Re: should i be ic or employee

    When I worked for a Deju-Piew club in California, the application offered a choice between IC and employee. The employee component was very complicated and convoluted. The only thing I remember is that there was schedule requirements, and Deja Vu offered to buy the dancer an outfit or something.

    "Have you ever been to American wedding? Where is the vodka, where's marinated herring?" - GB
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mia M
    If a cupcake was tossed at me... well, I'd only be upset if it missed my mouth

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    Default Re: should i be ic or employee

    Quote Originally Posted by Katrine View Post
    When I worked for a Deju-Piew club in California, the application offered a choice between IC and employee. The employee component was very complicated and convoluted. The only thing I remember is that there was schedule requirements, and Deja Vu offered to buy the dancer an outfit or something.
    ^Same here for every Deja Vu club I've worked at. I actually knew the two girls who filed the lawsuit two years ago (or so).
    If you think school is hard, try being stupid.

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