Your employer says that you are an independent contractor, but you are pretty sure you are an employee after doing some research online. Because your employer considers you a contractor, it is refusing to pay you workers’ compensation for your recent workplace injury. You need to figure out how to move forward in getting benefits.
Try Contacting the Insurance Company
You can try reaching out to your employer’s workers’ compensation insurance company, if your employer has a policy. You can check if it has a policy here. If not, then it may be self-insured or may not have a policy.
Your employer has a legal obligation to report all employee workplace injuries to its insurer. Since it thinks you are an independent contractor, it probably did not make a report. You can try speaking to the insurer about your injury. It may open a claim for your workplace injury. In all likelihood, though, it will initially deny an award of benefits.
Get a Lawyer to Help You Prove Your Employee Status
You think you are an employee, rather than a contractor. Now you will need to convince a workers’ compensation judge. A lawyer familiar with the independent contractor laws in Minnesota can help your make your case.
Talk to your lawyer about the legal standard that will apply, and help supply information and evidence about your work duties. Essentially, you need to showthat your employer had control of the means and manner by which you performed your work (though the test is more complicated than that).
The Waiting Game
You may have to wait a while for a decision on your employee status. If the judge decides that you are an employee, not a contractor, then you may be able to receive workers’ compensation benefits. But all of this takes time.
Make sure you get needed medical treatment in the meantime. Recovery and getting back to work when you are ready are the most important goals for your future. Let your lawyer take over the legal case while you focus on treating your injury.
Are you struggling to get workers’ compensation benefits as a so-called “contractor”? Joe Osterbauer, Esq. and the Osterbauer Law Firm stand up for injured Minnesota workers’ rights. Joe’s 27 years of workers’ compensation experience and his team’s speedy service combine to get clients the results they need. To schedule a free consultation, visit Osterbauer Law Firm online or call Joe’s office at (612) 334-3434.
