How many hours can an independent contractor work for me before he or she is considered an employee under California law?

ZERO!  Whether a worker can be classified as an independent contractor under California law has absolutely nothing to do with the number of hours that worker works for you, or the amount of money that worker is paid.

This is one of the most misunderstood areas of employment law in California.  The chances are high that if you’re using independent contractors, they actually should be classified as employees.  To determine whether an independent contractor should be classified as an employee is a complicated analysis.  This is why we have developed a proprietary Worker Classification Questionnaire available with our Employer Handbook that you should fill out for every independent contractor you hire to ensure they meet the definition of an independent contractor under California law.

Note: Misclassification of employees as independent contractors can lead to HUGE liabilities.A recent case investigated by the Labor Commissioner’s Office found that a nail salon had misclassified 36 workers as independent contractors.The citations issued included $126,702 for minimum wage violations plus $17,375 in interest, $144,076 for liquidated damages, $118,825 for failure to pay overtime, $92,492 for not providing final paychecks as required by law, $87,155 for improperly paid rest periods, $65,312 for not providing proper itemized wage statements, and $18,103 for meal period violations, in addition to civil penalties that included $207,887 for failure to maintain valid workers’ compensation insurance, $160,000 for misclassifying workers as independent contractors, $104,000 for not providing proper wage statements, and $100,300 for penalties associated with the wage violations.