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| Frequently asked questions
A: Independent contractors have few rights except the right to be paid what they were promised. Many workers who are called independent contractors are really employees – and deserve to have the rights of employees.If you get a 1099 tax statement (instead of a W-2) and don't get taxes taken out of your check, you are being treated as an independent contractor.Independent contractors can't file wage claims. They can go to small claims court if they aren't paid. If you are just called an independent contractor so your boss can avoid the laws protecting you, you may be able to prove that you are really an employee (NOT an independent contractor) and win your rights and sometimes back pay, unemployment, or workers comp.
A: Ways That Bosses Try Not to Pay Workers' Comp:
1. Forcing you back to work. Their workers’ comp costs are higher if you miss more work. Workers may want to go back to work because they need their full pay check. Many workers are promised “light duty” but are given work that is bad for their injury.
2. Telling you to use your health insurance (instead of filing a workers’ comp claim). You have to say that the problem is not work related in order to use your regular health insurance. Later if you file a workers’ comp claim, your boss shows the form where you said that your injury was not work-related.
3. The insurance company adjuster tricks you. The insurance company doesn’t want to pay. Anything you say to the insurance company adjuster may be used against your claim. If the adjuster wants you to make a recorded statement, only give basic, brief information. The insurance company may also send you to their doctor. Even if it’s called a Independent Medical Exam – it’s not.
4. Spying to prove that you are not hurt. Hiring a private investigator to take pictures of you doing things that you said that you were too hurt to do. They will say that if you can wash your car, you can do physical work for a whole day. Be careful about what you do in public and what you say to your boss, supervisor, and coworkers about your injury and claim.
5. Lying about filing your claim. By the time a worker realizes that a claim was not filed, the time limit to file has expired.
6. Giving regular pay instead of filing a workers’ comp claim. A lot of workers are happy to get their regular wages (which is more than you get from workers comp), but then there is no record of a work related injury. Afterward, if you are having trouble doing your job because of your injury, your boss can fire you. If you need more medical treatment later, it is not covered by workers’ comp.
7. Delaying until you give up. Refusing reasonable treatment for your injury, filing to end treatment, and arguing about every payment or treatment that you need.
8. Sending you to the company's doctor. Their doctor usually says that the injury is not so bad and may not be work-related. This can make it much harder to win your workers’ comp claim. If you can choose your own doctor, do it as soon as you are allowed. If you don’t have a regular doctor, get one quickly.
9. Avoiding documentation of the injury. Stop injured workers from going to the hospital or to the doctor, even if it means you don’t get treatment that you need. Not making an accident report.
10. Threatening workers if they file a claim. The law says that you cannot be fired for filing a workers’ comp claim. Remember - if you don’t file a workers comp claim and your injury makes it hard for you to do your job, your boss can fire you and you don’t have proof of your work injury. It will be too late to file for workers’ comp and with your injury it will be harder to find a new job.
11. Telling undocumented workers that they can’t collect. Workers are covered even if they don’t have authorization to work in the U.S. You will not be asked to show a green card. The Workers’ Comp office does not make reports to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A: No. No matter what, it’s your money. Also, your boss can’t hold your check to force you to return company property. HR may tell a worker that “when you drop off the equipment, you can collect your final check.” That suggests you can’t have your check unless you return the company property – but you can. If you have company property, it’s smart to return it -- in the future another company may be calling to ask for a reference (even if you didn’t tell them to). If you have something that’s worth a lot, the company could also take you to small claims court to get it back.
A: If you are fired or laid off in Arizona, you have to be paid within 3 workdays or on the next payday (whichever is sooner). School districts can wait 10 days from the day the worker left.
If you quit, you must be paid on the regular payday. They have to mail your check, if you ask them to.
Also, private employers with more than 100 employees have to give workers 60 days notice before closing a workplace or laying off 50 or more workers. Workers can be paid for the days that they should have had notice.This is called Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN). Some states have extra protections for more workers.
A: Workers are covered by workers comp and have the right to get paid for work completed even if they don’t have authorization to work in the U.S. You will not be asked to show a green card. The Workers’ Comp office does not make reports to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
A: Yes. Under Arizona Law:
- You have the right to be paid the minimum wage. In Arizona, the minimum wage is connected with the cost of living. Currently it is $7.25 an hour and is increased every January 1st. There are very few exceptions to this law, so if your employer is telling you that your job is not covered by the minimum wage law, contact us to find out for sure.
- You have the right to be paid at least twice a month, or every sixteen days. If you lose your job, your employer has to pay you within three days or by the next pay period, whichever comes first.
- If your job requires safety equipment, your employer must provide you with that equipment at no charge.
Under Federal Law:
- You have the right to overtime pay after 40 hours of work in one 7 day period as established by your employer. For example, if your employer sets Sunday through Saturday as your work week and you work more than 40 hours during that time period, you are entitled to one and one half times your hourly wage for every hour over forty hours.
- There are special safety rules for young people under federal law. They cannot be required to perform certain duties. Persons under the age of sixteen may not work during school hours during the school years and may not be assigned to do hazardous jobs.
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