My boss, a smalltime O/O who is (I presume) close to bankruptcy, recently stopped doing payroll as usual and has now resorted to just using Zelle to deposit money in my bank account directly. He mumbled something about the only difference is that I will need a 1099 at the end of the year because no taxes are being taken out and I can just do it later. I didn’t think much of it till I realized the situation is potentially a lot more complicated. Some questions/thoughts:
The only reason I see him doing this is so he doesn’t have to pay the standard employee taxes (UI, Worker’s comp, etc.). But now I’m afraid my ass is being put on the line.
Scenario 1: Come tax time, am I responsible for not only my usual employee payroll taxes, but also responsible for all his employer taxes that are no longer being paid?
Scenario 2: I get into a wreck and hurt someone/get hurt. Since I am being paid as an “independent contractor,” does this mean I assume all the legal and financial responsibility without the normal employee protections?
I don’t think he is necessarily being malicious about this, as there is no question that I am still an employee by any legal standard, and I don’t think he would dispute that.
But the big issue here is whether he’s risking my ass to save himself some money.
Sorry for the novel, but I really need advice. Anybody familiar with the ins and outs of being a 1099 vs a W2 regular employee? Is it even legal to do this to an employee? I live in WA state but the company is based out of LA.
