Camille Olson and Richard Lapp Quoted in Inland Press
“Now is the Time to Review Your Agreements with Independent Contractors”

Camille Olson and Richard Lapp were quoted in the August 31, 2010, Inland Press article, “Now is the Time to Review Your Agreements with Independent Contractors.” The article discussed how federal and state governments are closely scrutinizing the classification of independent freelancers and recommended that companies should examine their relationships with their independent contractors to ensure they are classified correctly.

According to the article, President Obama’s pro-union administration seeks to discourage employers from improperly classifying workers as independent contractors, in part, because each misclassified worker represents a loss of revenue for the government. Camille noted, “we predict the issue of independent contractors will become increasingly important given the increased litigation environment nationwide as well as the enforcement environment and the legislative environment in Washington.” Rich explained that companies can minimize the chance of a lawsuit by following certain best practices, which include having a written contract with each contractor that makes it clear that the “independent contractor is a separate entity, perhaps a separate business entity.”