Q: What are the legal responsibilities of an independent contractor.
The employee expects me to use my computer and cell phone, travel using my vehicle.
A:
The question is extremely broad as an online post cannot realistically outline every legal responsibility, much will depend on the particular field/industry.
Generally speaking, thought, an Independent Contractor assumes responsibility for all his/her own work and does not have an employer/employee relationship. That means an Independent Contractor should pay their own taxes (both employer and employee side), pay for their own insurance, buy their own tools, control how they do their work, etc.
Because employers must assume certain obligations for employees (E.g., workers' compensation, unemployment insurance, employer share of social security taxes), sometimes employers try to wrongly classify their employees as independent contractors. Merely calling someone an "independent contractor" does not make it so and the IRS has a multi-factor test to help determine whether someone called an independent contractor truly fits that description.
If you have a question about proper classification in a particular situation you may wish to contact the department of labor or an employment lawyer.
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