Employee Misclassification
The employee misclassification attorneys at FMCO Law, are as dedicated as they are well-qualified. When it comes to ensuring your right to be properly classified by your employer as a full-time worker rather than as an independent contractor, we will work diligently to make things right. Well aware that many companies misclassify at least some of their workers to protect their profit margin, we are also keenly aware that they do so at their employees’ expense.
If you live in Chicago, Geneva or in other surrounding suburbs of Chicago, and you feel you have been misclassified by your employer, contact our law team now for a consultation. We will determine whether or not you have been misclassified by your employer and do all we can to recoup your resulting losses.
Once we determine that you have a viable case, we will attempt to negotiate a settlement with your employer; failing that, we are fully prepared to go to court. In most employment law cases our legal fees are charged on a contingency basis which means that you will owe us nothing until we win you the damages you deserve.
Why Choose Our Geneva Employee Misclassification Lawyers
Employment law cases can be difficult to handle since your livelihood depends on remaining employed by the company you intend to sue. Although retaliation for queries and complaints about employment status is illegal, you may still worry that your questions and/or complaints will jeopardize your job.
This is why contacting our employment attorneys is a wise step. We will offer you immediate protection from potential bullying that may scare you away from demanding what is rightfully yours. The following abilities will give us an edge over your employer and the opposing attorneys:
- Strong communications skills
- Sharp investigatory capabilities
- Effective negotiation and litigation strategies
You should also be aware that our legal team has excellent credentials and a track record of successful outcomes so you can feel confident with us at the helm.
How Employee Misclassification Hurts Your Bottom Line
It is by no means uncommon for greedy employers to misclassify employees. This tactic helps them but hurts you because it enables them to:
- Require overtime work without providing overtime pay
- Deny you unemployment benefits if they lay you off
- Fail to provide you with healthcare benefits
- Deny you workers’ compensation
- Deny you minimum wage and overtime pay
- Deny you sick pay and rest breaks
- Deny you reimbursement for out-of-pocket work expenses
- Fail to contribute to your Social Security and Medicare taxes
- Not withhold income taxes from your pay so you have to pay taxes quarterly
- Not provide you with the necessary tools for your employment
- Not help to fund your retirement account
It should be clear by now why your employer may want to misclassify your employment and why you want to prevent her/him from doing so. Employee misclassification is illegal under the Illinois Employee Classification Act. If you are a full-time employee, you should not be exempt from the state labor laws of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) meant to protect you.
Other Damage That It Does
In addition to harming individual employees in Illinois, an employer who misclassifies you here is cheating other, more scrupulous employers in our state and throughout the nation. Millions of dollars are lost to this misconduct in uncollected income taxes, Social Security taxes and unemployment taxes.
Signs Of Employee Misclassification
If you aren’t sure if you are being misclassified at your job, the following may provide you with reason for suspicion:
- Your employer decides on your work location, your hours and the way you work.
- If you are really an independent contractor, you should have considerably more control over where you work, your hours and the way you do your job.
- Your employment terms are consistent and ongoing.
- In most cases, an independent contractor is hired on a temporary or sporadic basis.
- If you work at the same place every day and you are on call for an indefinite period, you are more likely a full-time employee.
- Your employer provides all the equipment you use at your job.
- If your employer provides you with a computer, construction tools, or other equipment necessary to perform your job, you may very well be an employee rather than an independent contractor, no matter what your boss tells you.
- You don’t submit invoices to your employer.
- In most cases, independent contractors bill for their work, whereas full-time employees get paid automatically.
- You work for only one employer.
Independent contractors generally work for a number of clients. If you work every day at the same company, you are more likely to be considered a full-time employee.
Damages Our Lawyers Will Fight To Win For You
Once we have investigated and uncovered all pertinent information about your employment and determined that you have been misclassified, we will attempt to negotiate a reclassification of your employment status and obtain a suitable settlement for your losses. If your employer is noncompliant, we will pursue litigation.
Bearing in mind that ignorance of the law is no excuse, if we have to go to court and win, your employer will have substantial legal penalties to pay for cheating the government out of owed taxes in addition to paying you damages. Our goal will be to have you reclassified properly and to obtain full compensation for you to make up for unpaid overtime, being paid less than minimum wage, and other losses. Under the Fair Labor Standard Act (FLSA), we may be able to recover up to double what is owed to you.
Contact Our Experienced Employee Misclassification Attorneys Now
Don’t let yourself be taken advantage of by your employer. You work hard and are entitled to every dollar you earn. The sooner you get in touch with FMCO Law, the closer you will be to receiving justice.
FMCO Law serves Chicago, DuPage County, Kane County, and Cook County from our office in Geneva, Illinois, for all our clients’ employee misclassification legal needs.