Independent Contractor vs. Employee Legal Issues

Wessels Pautsch & Sherman P.C. has long been proud of its leadership role in defending businesses across the United States who use independent contractors. Wessels Pautsch & Sherman P.C. recognizes that the use of independent contractors is a time-honored tradition in the United States.

The attorneys at Wessels Pautsch & Sherman P.C. consult with businesses who use independent contractors to help them lower their liability in doing so. The many services that Wessels Pautsch & Sherman P.C. attorneys provide to businesses using independent contractors include:

• Reviewing and revising independent contractor agreements;
• Helping strengthen independent contractor relationships;
• Defending companies when they are audited by state departments of unemployment insurance, the IRS, and other government agencies;
• Keeping companies up to date about any changes in the law which might impact on independent contractor situations;
• Advising companies about their risk in using independent contractors and helping them lower that risk;
• Advising construction and construction-related companies (including trucking) about their risks under the Illinois Employee Classification Act (formerly HB1795) and helping them lower those risks;
• Helping companies establish and maintain independent contractor files;
• Doing in-house training to teach companies how to properly interface with their independent contractors; and
• Revising the many kinds of written materials that a company might use in connection with its independent contractors.

There are many kinds of independent contractors used all over the United States including carpenters, sales representatives, direct sellers, consultants, engineers, drywallers, real estate appraisers, landscapers, architects, truck drivers, messenger couriers, taxicab drivers, carpet installers, loan officers, interior designers, accountants, court reporters, computer programmers, graphic artists, instructors, massage therapists, psychiatrists, etc.

Wessels Pautsch & Sherman P.C. attorneys have decades of experience in assisting companies with every kind of legal concern imaginable in connection with their independent contractor usage.

If you have any questions about the use of independent contractors or would like to discuss any concerns you might have, please contact Wessels Pautsch & Sherman P.C. Shareholder and Senior Attorney Nancy Joerg by phone at 630-377-1554 or by email at najoerg@stch.w-p.com.

This website has many valuable articles about independent contractor status and the Illinois Employee Classification Act, as well as a listing of our many popular CD/audio tapes on independent contractor status.