Independent Contractor Versus Employee

The following was published in the April Edition of Memphis Medical News.

It is critical that healthcare businesses correctly classify the individuals providing services for them as either employees or independent contractors.  Misclassification matters to both the business and the service provider.  Businesses are typically required to withhold income taxes and employment taxes on employees whereas they are generally not required to withhold such taxes on independent contractors.  Instead, it is the independent contractor's obligation to report and pay such taxes.  Businesses also do not have to include independent contractors in certain fringe benefit programs such as retirement plans or health insurance.  Additionally, the business does not have to provide workers compensation benefits or unemployment insurance for independent contractors or abide by wage and hour laws.  And in the context of hospitals and doctors, there is perhaps an even bigger difference:  if a