Q: I'm a 1099 contractor and I'm owed over $4000 but the employer won't pay. What do I do?

A: The following link from the New York State Office of Courts should help:

http://www.nycourts.gov/courthelp/SmallClaims/index.shtml

Are you sure that you are a 1099 contractor and not an employee? Even if employees and employers agree, in writing, that someone is a 1099 contractor that does not mean that they are a 1099 contractor.

No one has to work for free.

Years ago, I helped a $1,000 per day alleged "1099 contractor" obtain unemployment benefits. This person had actually suggested the rate of $1,000 per day, had signed an independent contractor agreement that they were an independent contractor, and had no intention of proceeding against this "employer" for benefits. But they had no choice. The employer objected and the only way they could recover unemployment was to prove that they were in fact an employee. In New York, those determinations are made by the New York State Department of Labor regardless of what any contracts say, what the parties believe, or whether an employer objects or consents to benefits. It's not up to the employer. It depends on what the alleged 1099 contractor actually does every day, when they do it, how they do it, what they hold themselves out to the public to be, whether they work for others in addition to one master, their expertise, whether they hold professional licenses, and a number of other factors.

After a heavily litigated objection to benefits the "1099 contractor" was determined to be an employee under state law and entitled to benefits.

Call some employment lawyers. Depending on the facts, you might be entitled to unemployment benefits while you look for another job. It looks like you will be doing that anyway based on this employer's pay history, especially if they force you to sue them in small claims court. Good luck.