Worcester Independent Contractor Misclassification Lawyers
Serving Worcester, Middlesex and Hampden Counties
Massachusetts has one of the strictest independent contractor tests in the country, and many workers who are labeled contractors should actually be classified as employees. Rudolf, Griffis, Ruggieri & Murray helps misclassified workers recover the wages, benefits, and protections they were wrongly denied.
Misclassification is not just a paperwork issue. It can cost workers overtime pay, unemployment benefits, workers’ compensation coverage, and other protections that only apply to employees.
How Massachusetts Determines Contractor Status
- The worker must be free from the employer’s control and direction in performing the work.
- The work performed must be outside the employer’s usual course of business.
- The worker must be customarily engaged in an independently established trade or business of the same nature.
- All three parts of this test must be met for a worker to be properly classified as an independent contractor.
- Failing to meet even one part means the worker should likely be classified as an employee.
What Misclassification Can Cost You
Workers misclassified as independent contractors often miss out on overtime pay, minimum wage protections, unemployment insurance, workers’ compensation coverage, and employer-provided benefits. Massachusetts law allows misclassified workers to recover these losses, sometimes including triple damages under the Wage Act.
We help workers evaluate whether they have been properly classified and, if not, pursue the compensation they are legally owed.