GOP Candidate Scott Brown refusing to provide Health Insurance or tax benefits to his paid staff

[Ian David]

In MA-Sen Race That's All About Health Care, Is GOPer Brown Providing Coverage to Staff?

The campaign staffers helping Scott Brown for U.S. Senate are being paid as independent contractors rather than as employees and are responsible for paying their own taxes and, presumably, health care coverage. The contractors designation applies from the top tier to lower level staffers who appear to be doing grunt advance work for Brown events and handling volunteers and press.

The decision to treat staffers as independent contractors could save the campaign money on taxes and benefits, experts TPMDC spoke with said, although the precise rationale for the move remains unclear.

TPMDC reviewed campaign finance reports showing more than a dozen Brown staffers being paid for "strategy consulting," an unusual label for low-level aides. We asked the campaign about the designation and whether they have paid payroll taxes.

Campaign spokesman Felix Browne told TPMDC the campaign is aided by "volunteers and paid staff who are compensated as independent contractors in accordance with the Massachusetts independent contractor law."

"Contractors are responsible for paying all applicable taxes," Browne said.

More:
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/01/in-ma-sen-race-thats-all-about-health-care-is-goper-brown-providing-coverage-to-staff.php

See also:

Scott Brown vs Martha Coakley on the issues
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x7483204

Phonebank from home for Martha Coakley- Stop Scott Brown!
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=106x33906

[Gman]

1. If they work at the direction of the campaign, and

if they use the campaign's "tools" (i.e. laptops, cellphones, etc) they are not contractors and this is a federal wage and hour violation.

[starroute]

5. That is exactly right -- this is probably an IRS violation

The IRS doesn't like independent contractors much because it's easier for them to evade paying taxes, so it sets very strict criteria for being paid as one.

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=179115,00.html

The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result.


http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/article/0,,id=99921,00.html

Facts that provide evidence of the degree of control and independence fall into three categories:

1. Behavioral: Does the company control or have the right to control what the worker does and how the worker does his or her job?
2. Financial: Are the business aspects of the worker’s job controlled by the payer? (these include things like how worker is paid, whether expenses are reimbursed, who provides tools/supplies, etc.)

<snip>

If you classify an employee as an independent contractor and you have no reasonable basis for doing so, you may be held liable for employment taxes for that worker.

[Gman]

6. That too

Exactly.

[FLDCVADem]

7. Are you sure about that?

When I was in the military, I worked with many contractors, and they didn't provide their own workstations, supplies, etc. The government provided all of that as part of the contract.

[greennina]

2. That's a symptom!

The problem is the people don't have government-provided health insurance in the first place. Attack the real problem.

[Ian David]

3. Good point. Although in Mass. we DO have RomneyCare. n/t

[tsuki]

4. If they are told when to report and what to do during the day, they

are employees.

[FLDCVADem]

9. Oh please

We have contractors that are told what they hours are and when they have to work, and they are most certainly not government employees.

[groundloop]

10. There's a difference..

Those people are more than likely EMPLOYEES of a contracting company. That contracting company will treat them as regular employees, although more than likely they won't have much in the way of health insurance or other benefits.

In Brown's case he's just trying to cut costs by classifying his employees as contractors. A true 'contractor' would be told that a certain job needs to be done, that it needs to be done by x date, and then left alone to do his job. This is abused all the time totry and get around labor laws.

[tsuki]

11. Then you had better look up all the IRS rules. We had contractors

in Florida that tried to do that, and the IRS fined them for the withholding and both parts of SS & Medicare.

Independent Contractor The general rule is that an individual is an independent contractor if you, the person for whom the services are performed, have the right to control or direct only the result of the work and not the means and methods of accomplishing the result.

[Scurrilous]

8. K & R

:thumbsup: