# Independent contractor classification
> Source: https://legalcode.md/skills/legalcode-independent-contractor-classification | [HTML version](https://legalcode.md/skills/legalcode-independent-contractor-classification)

Analyse whether a working relationship should be classified as independent contractor or employee under multiple overlapping legal tests: ABC test (California…

Analyse whether a working relationship should be classified as independent contractor or employee under multiple overlapping legal tests: ABC test (California AB5/Dynamex, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Illinois, 33+ states), economic reality test (FLSA, DOL guidance), common law / right-to-control test (IRS three-category framework, Revenue Ruling 87-41), and hybrid tests. Evaluates behavioural control, financial control, and relationship-type factors across federal and state regimes simultaneously. Produces a multi-test risk score with per-regime verdicts, identifies misclassification exposure (back taxes, benefits liability, penalties, class action risk), recommends structural modifications to strengthen contractor status, and generates defensibility documentation. Use when onboarding independent contractors, auditing an existing contractor workforce, responding to a DOL/state agency investigation, evaluating litigation risk, or advising on platform-worker arrangements. Covers US federal (FLSA, IRS, NLRB), all US states with notable ABC-test treatment, UK (IR35 / Off-Payroll Working), EU Platform Work Directive (2024/2831), and Australian post-2024 Fair Work Act framework. Includes Section 530 of the Revenue Act safe harbour analysis.

This skill analyses whether a specific working relationship is correctly classified as independent contractor or employee under the primary legal tests applicable in the worker's and engaging entity's jurisdiction(s). It identifies misclassification risk, quantifies potential exposure, and recommends structural modifications to defend contractor status across concurrent legal regimes. **Covers:** - Multi-test risk analysis run in parallel: ABC test (state), economic reality test (FLSA/federal), IRS common law test (tax), and NLRB standard (labour relations) - US state-specific assessment for ABC-test and strict-liability states - UK IR35 / Off-Payroll Working Rules (inside/outside determination) - EU Platform Work Directive 2024/2831 (rebuttable presumption analysis) - Australian Fair Work Act §15AA post-2024 practical-reality test - Section 530 Revenue Act safe harbour analysis (federal tax) - Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP) evaluation - Misclassification exposure quantification (back taxes, penalties, benefits, PAGA/class action risk) - Structural modification playbook to strengthen and document contractor status - Defensibility documentation audit and recommendations **Does not:** - Provide legal advice or replace qualified employment and tax counsel - Constitute a determination binding on any government agency or court - Analyse immigration classification (separate skill required) - Address non-US social security treaty issues beyond the framing identified here - Apply to statutory ...

## Jurisdictions

Global



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