Misclassified worker screener

General guidance only. Worker classification tests vary by state and by which law is at issue (wage and hour, unemployment, workers' comp, tax). This tool identifies common factors for discussion with an employment attorney - it doesn't make a final legal determination. See our full disclaimer.

Worker classification screener

Your classification assessment

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An employment attorney applies the exact legal test for your state and claim type to determine your true classification and calculate what you may be owed in unpaid overtime, benefits, or unemployment contributions. Many attorneys work on contingency.

What tests determine whether you're really an employee?

No single nationwide test applies to every situation - the test depends on which law is at issue and which state you're in. The IRS uses a "right to control" test focused on behavioral control, financial control, and the relationship type. The Department of Labor under the FLSA uses an "economic realities" test asking whether the worker is economically dependent on the business or in business for themselves.

Many states, including California, use a stricter "ABC test" that presumes a worker is an employee unless the business proves all 3 conditions: the worker is free from control and direction, the work is outside the usual course of the business, and the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established business of the same type.

The ABC test's second prong is particularly powerful - if you're doing the same type of work as the company's core business (a delivery driver for a delivery company, a driver for a rideshare company), that alone can defeat the employer's independent contractor classification in ABC-test states. Check the wage theft calculator to estimate what you may be owed if reclassified as an employee.

What common factors point toward employee status?

Behavioral control indicators: the company sets your schedule, dictates how the work must be performed (not just the end result), provides training, requires you to use specific methods or tools, and supervises your work closely.

Financial control indicators: the company provides your equipment and supplies, reimburses your business expenses, pays you a regular wage or salary rather than a per-project fee, and you have no meaningful opportunity for profit or loss based on your own management skill.

Relationship indicators: you receive employee-type benefits, the relationship is expected to be indefinite rather than project-based, and the work you perform is a key part of the company's regular business - not a peripheral service.

What do you lose when you're misclassified as a contractor?

Misclassified workers are typically denied: overtime pay for hours over 40/week, minimum wage protections, unemployment insurance eligibility if let go, workers' compensation coverage if injured on the job, employer-provided health insurance and retirement benefits, protection under anti-discrimination and family/medical leave laws, and the employer's share of Social Security and Medicare taxes (contractors pay both the employee and employer share themselves through self-employment tax).

This makes misclassification financially significant even beyond any single paycheck - it affects your safety net, tax burden, and legal protections across your entire working relationship with the company.

Frequently asked questions

No. Courts and agencies consistently hold that the label used in a contract - even one you signed voluntarily - doesn't control the legal classification. What matters is the actual working relationship: how much control the company exercises, how you're paid, and whether you're genuinely operating an independent business. A company can't simply write "independent contractor" into an agreement and thereby avoid its legal obligations if the real-world relationship looks like employment. This is one of the most litigated issues in employment law precisely because employers frequently rely on contract language that doesn't match actual practice.

The ABC test presumes every worker is an employee unless the hiring business proves all 3 elements: (A) the worker is free from the company's control and direction in performing the work, (B) the work is outside the usual course of the hiring company's business, and (C) the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature. California (via AB5 and Prop 22 carve-outs for some gig platforms), New Jersey, Massachusetts, and several other states use versions of the ABC test, which is generally considered more protective of workers than the IRS or traditional common-law control tests used elsewhere.

Yes. Your personal preference or agreement to be classified as a contractor doesn't change the legal analysis, which focuses on the actual economic relationship and degree of control - not what either party wanted or agreed to call it. Many workers genuinely prefer the flexibility associated with contractor status, but if the underlying relationship meets the legal test for employment, you're entitled to employee protections regardless of your subjective preference. This surprises many workers who assumed their agreement to 1099 status was determinative.

You have several options: file Form SS-8 with the IRS requesting an official determination of your worker status, file a complaint with your state's labor department or the federal Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division, or consult an employment attorney who can evaluate a private lawsuit for unpaid overtime, benefits, and other damages. Many misclassification cases proceed as class or collective actions when a company has systematically classified many similar workers the same way, which can significantly increase leverage and total recovery.

No - retaliation for raising a good-faith concern about your worker classification, including asking questions, filing an IRS Form SS-8, or filing a complaint with a labor agency, is illegal under most wage and hour laws. If you're terminated, have your hours cut, or are otherwise punished after raising classification questions, document the timeline carefully - this pattern can support a separate retaliation claim in addition to the underlying misclassification issue.