Are there other organizations the have troubles telling the difference between employees and independent contractors? I think this is primarily a church problem. Churches often have a lot of very part-time people paid small amounts. Maybe this used to be a volunteer position that is now paid. When does that person turn into an employee? How could you tell the difference?
When you stop and think about it, it’s not that difficult. Does the person your paying act like a business? Do they have more customers than just the church? Do you give them raises like other employees or do they negotiate the rate they want to get paid? Have they taken any other steps to look like a business…like registering with the State or the IRS?
The reason this is important is for when things go wrong. For employees, the church needs to show a higher level of care. If someone get’s hurt or feels taken advantage of, the remedies and expectations (legal or not) are different.
Check out the video below:
JCT Accounting Co 