independent contractors

Employee vs independent contractor: The dangers of misclassification

August 3, 2018 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring

It is essential that employers understand and consider the risks of misclassifying employees as contractors, even when the individual themselves is the one requesting or proposing the contractor relationship.

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Three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk

March 29, 2018 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Health and Safety, Human Resources, Payroll, Source Deductions and Reporting, Wages and Compensation

The three popular articles this week on HRinfodesk deal with providing a T4A to independent contractors, the equal pay for equal work coming into force date of April 1 and the Alberta OHS regulations consultation.

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Ontario Passes Bill 148

December 12, 2017 Rubin Thomlinson LLP Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Health and Safety, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Union Relations, Wages and Compensation

On November 22, 2017, the Ontario government passed Bill 148, which includes amendments to the Employment Standards Act (“ESA”), the Labour Relations Act (“LRA”) and the Occupational Health and Safety Act (“OHSA”). On November 27, 2017, Bill 148 received Royal Assent.

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Using independent contractor not a “get out of jail free” card

April 12, 2017 Stringer LLP Conferences, Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, HR Policies and Procedures, Human Resources, Notice, Damages and Settlements, Payroll, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Training and Development, Wages and Compensation

Learn the Latest at the Ontario Employment Law Conference

A business’ obligations to its workers will depend on whether the workers are employees or independent contractors. However, a recent decision reminds us that, even where a worker is a true independent contractor, this distinction may not preclude a business being liable to third parties, such as customers, when the worker does something wrong.

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Most-viewed articles this week on HRinfodesk

May 9, 2013 Yosie Saint-Cyr, LL.B. Managing Editor Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Human Rights, Payroll, Pensions and Benefits, Recruiting and Hiring, Source Deductions and Reporting, Union Relations

The three most viewed articles on HRinfodesk this week deal with the difficulty of characterizing the employment relationship as that of independent contractor, the taxability of employer-paid membership fees and the high price of age discrimination.

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United States HR Law: ‘misclassifying’ employees as independent contractors

February 28, 2013 Occasional Contributors Human Resources, International HR Law, International Payroll, Payroll

Hiring an employee is an expensive proposition. Employees must be trained, they must be paid regardless of their productivity while they are employed, they have many rights under the law including workers’ compensation coverage, and terminating a difficult employee can be a costly nightmare. In an age of constantly increasing regulation, many businesses are turning to independent contractors to complete work for them because they usually need minimal training and can be acquired or dismissed as the situation warrants.

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Conducting a workplace violence risk assessment: six common pitfalls

May 18, 2012 David Hyde Health and Safety, Human Resources, Training and Development

Despite the fact that a significant majority of Canadian organizations are legally obligated to conduct workplace violence risk assessments, it appears that uncertainty and inconsistency are commonplace when it comes to the actual conduct of the assessment. This month, we will take a closer look at workplace violence risk assessments: what they are, what they aren’t, common pitfalls in conducting them and some best practice considerations from the available literature.

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Misclassification of workers: contractors or consultants?

January 5, 2012 Rudner Law, Employment / HR Law & Mediation Employee Relations, Employment/Labour Standards, Human Resources, Recruiting and Hiring

I have often written and spoken about misclassification of workers, specifically that many organizations agree to call workers “contractors” or “consultants” even though they are, in reality, employees. The bottom line is that our courts and government agencies, including the Canada Revenue Agency, will not be swayed by the terms used in a document or the manner in which parties describe their relationship. They will look at the reality of the situation, and…

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Independent contractors are regularly employed for purposes of OHSA

January 21, 2011 Christina Catenacci Health and Safety, Human Resources

The Ontario Court of Appeal just rendered an interesting decision regarding whether independent contractors are to be counted when determining the need to establish and maintain a joint health and safety committee pursuant to subsection 9(2)(a)of Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

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