Q: I want to check whether my company can hire online coaches and classify them as contractors.
Details:
- It's a Delaware C-corp.
- The coaches and clients could be anywhere in the United States. For the coaches, we can control which states to hire them.
- The coaches will coach their clients over Zoom.
If that's possible, I'd like some help to draft a contract/agreement that can work in multiple (and hopefully most) states.
A: Yes it is probably possible in many states, depending on how the relationship with the coaches is structured, how they are supervised, etc. The details here will be important, otherwise you can run afoul of tax and employment laws quite easily. If structured right, what you've described could certainly be viable.
1 user found this answer helpful
A: There are ways to draft a contract that will meet the requirements in most circumstances. My experience in handling audit issues under AB5 has shown that there are basic principles that can used to justify classifying a coach as a contractor rather than an employee. My extensive experience in writing and negotiating contracts for use in all states would enable me to prepare the necessary contracts.
A:
Very difficult in California with new definitions of "employee" from case law and statute. Only 3 factors required for most jobs, and if the work being done is part of the company's business, very strong chance your contractors will be considered to be employees. You really need to discuss with employment law attorney. If you do business in California, if the Contractors are located in California, you will come under California law and it does not matter where you are incorporated or where your primary place of business is located, they will be employees under California law. There might be a domino effect on the employees in other states. Class action lawsuits cost a fortune to defend and if you lose, the damages are very high.
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