When is an independant contractor required to be paid after employment has ended?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
When is an independant contractor required to be paid after employment has ended?
My girlfriend signed contract as an independent contractor, working as a photographer. She left after they failed repeatedly to pay her money that she was owed for working. I have her signed contract, and it does not stipulate when the employees will be paid for their work. It has been at least 6 weeks since she left the job. At the time she left, the company was not paying any of its photographers. I have researched state labor law but everything I find seems to pertain to employees, not independent contractors. Is this company breaking the law by not paying her?
Asked on January 16, 2012 under Employment Labor Law, California
Answers:
M.T.G., Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Listen, that independent contractor agreement may not be seen as anything but an attempt by her employer to avoid tax liability. And if the agreement is silen about her pay periods - des it say anything at all about regular pay periods - then I think a court would consider giving the employer a reasonable amount of time to pay. 6 weeks is not reasonable. SHe needs to send a letter by certified mail requesting her pay. Then she needs to sue in small claims court. The regualr pay period that she would have had should indeed apply. Good luck.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.