Top Two Ways Misclassification Can Hurt a Houston Lawn Care Worker’s Paycheck

In a recent article, we addressed the issue of Houston lawn care providers being misclassified as independent contractors and how to recognize this unfair behavior.

But what many lawn care workers who are working in the same industry under the same unfair circumstances may be asking themselves, “How does being misclassified hurt me in the long run? Does misclassification as an independent contractor really affect my paycheck and finances that much?”

The answer is YES.

There are many different ways that misclassification can affect your financial well-being. Let’s take a look at the top two ways that this can happen.

1. You will most likely owe a large amount of taxes at the end of the year. When an employer hires an independent contractor, it is the contractor’s responsibility to pay their own taxes, since the employer is no longer withholding employment tax every pay period. If your boss does not clearly relay that he or she is deeming you an independent contractor, and you do not set aside a portion of each paycheck, you can end up with a large tax bill at the end of the year with no way to pay it.
2. When you are misclassified as an independent contractor, you could be missing out on valuable overtime pay. Perhaps your boss tells you that he is going to pay you $10 per hour as an independent contractor, but he requires you to work 12 hour days. As an independent contractor, you are not entitled to time and a half for those hours over 40 you have worked each week. That means if you are working five days a week, 12 hours each day, you are missing out on 20 hours of overtime pay each week. With a wage of $10 per hour, that overtime equates to $100 more than the straight time you are receiving, or a whopping $5,200 per year!

Still have questions? Call Kennedy Hodges toll-free at 888.449.2068, and receive a free copy of their book, The Ten Biggest Mistakes That Can Hurt Your Wage and Overtime Wage Claim.