During my first six weeks as an Independent Correspondent, Don Cyphers thought I was an independent contractor. I thought I was an independent contractor. But after reading a Department of Labor pamphlet, I'm almost certain that I wasn't.
The only independent contractor criteria that my relationship with Cyphers really met during the six weeks prior to me becoming an hourly employee of a Labor Contractor was that Cyphers and I had agreed to a flat $200 a week, not an hour or commission wage. Of course he never paid me but that's another story told on the front page of the Montana Fraud Association.
Nearly every other part of the pamphlet pointed to me being an employee rather than an independent contractor, including the following:
1) One test of whether a person is an employee or an Independent Contractor is whether the services rendered are essential to the employer's business. If they are, the likelhood increases that the person is an employee. Nothing could be more essential to a newspaper than reporters.
2) At will Cyphers changed our relationship from "Independent Contractor" to outsourced employee. However, if I'd been a real independent contractor, he would have been unable to do that. An Independent Contractor has a contractual relationship with the employer and thus cannot change the contract or its terms at will. Which means, if the employee can quit whenever he wants, and the employer can fire the employee whenever he wants, they don't have an Independent Contractor relationship.
3) Don Cyphers provided me with a press pass and business cards and later ordered me to return the press pass. However, if I'd been an Independent Contractor, I would have had my own business cards. By issuing me items and ordering they're return, Cyphers is showing that he had "control over me" and as such, I was not an Independent Contractor
4) During this time, I never advertised my services, offering them to different news agencies but worked exclusively for Donald Cyphers and the Montana News Association. According to the pamphlet, "Independent Contractors advertise their businesses and usually work on several contracts while providing services to you."
5) During this time, I didn't have my own workman's compensation insurance, which was yet another requirement of being an Independent Contractor.
The law is clear, I was an employee of Don Cyphers from Day 1. Empowered with this knowledge, I've filed a complaint with the Wage and Hour board, which was unable to help me before because I thought I was a contractor for Cyphers. Now that I'm clear on the fact that I was an employee of Don Cyphers, hopefully we'll see some action. At long last, justice may be coming to Donald Cyphers.