Legal Hotline: (844) 804-2016

Question: Are newspapers obligated to complete this form?

Posted

Question: The State Department of Unemployment sent the newspaper a multi-page questionnaire trying to determine the independent contractor status of a newspaper carrier. Is the newspaper obligated to complete this form and send it back to the Unemployment Department?

Answer: The answer is, unequivocally, "No." Typically, this form is routed to Human Resources. Human Resources should immediately contact circulation management for assistance.

A mistake I have seen in my cases is that Human Resources reflexively completes the form without consulting circulation management or legal counsel. I often encounter errors such as completing the question asking for "wage information." With counsel, the answer will be, "There are no wages because this person is an independent contractor."

Rather than completing the form, the best practice would be to write a comprehensive position paper setting forth in persuasive terms why the individual is an independent contractor and not an employee. Particular care should also be taken to review your state's statute. Each state has a unique statute. Many states have a newspaper-specific provision that will be helpful to you in defeating the claim.

Remember: these forms are "loaded" with questions designed to elicit "employee" evidence. That is why completing the form is a problem. In many cases, completing the form leads to an administrative hearing that could have been avoided if the response had been handled through a persuasive position paper, carefully quoting any applicable newspaper industry-specific exclusions.

Note: Nothing in this SNPA Legal Hotline Q&A should be relied upon as legal advice in any particular matter.

L. Michael Zinser is the founding partner of The Zinser Law Firm in Nashville, Tenn. The firm, which has a heavy concentration of clients in communications media, represents management in the area of labor and employment. Zinser can be reached at (615) 244-9700 or mzinser@zinserlaw.com.


SNPA's free Legal Hotline for members – (844) 804-2016 – is designed to assist newspapers with a broad range of legal issues. Hotline attorneys and CPAs will tackle questions about circulation, independent contractors, labor and employment law, taxes, finances and accounting, employment benefits, open records, libel and privacy, and other issues newspapers encounter.

The attorneys and CPAs who will take calls from SNPA member newspapers are the best in the business:  The Bussian Law Firm PLLC, Fisher & Phillips, Way, Ray, Shelton & Co., P.C. and The Zinser Law Firm.

Legal Hotline, Zinser, independent contractor
Calendar View all