Hiring an independent contractor: the rules by state

• Wage-law test. Under the Alaska Wage and Hour Act the state asks whether the worker depends on finding work in the business of others; if so, the worker is an employee, and a business license, a 1099 or a contractor label does not change that. Alaska Dept. of Labor and Workforce Development, Wage and Hour Section, industry notice to assisted living homes (citing Jeffcoat v. State, Dept. of Labor, 732 P.2d 1073 (Alaska 1987))
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, paid service is employment unless the business shows the department that the worker is free from control, the work is outside the usual course or outside all places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business of the same kind. Special rules: Casual labor outside the course of the trade or business is excluded unless paid $50 or more in a quarter to a worker regularly employed (24 days in the quarter), AS 23.20.526(a)(3); Commission-paid insurance agents and solicitors, real estate brokers and salespersons, and securities salespersons are excluded unless FUTA requires coverage, AS 23.20.526(a)(8); Newspaper carriers selling or distributing on the street or house to house, AS 23.20.526(a)(2). AS 23.20.525(a)(8)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. No. Alaska has no individual income tax, so there is no state Form 1099 filing and no state withholding on contractor payments. Alaska Child Support Services Division, Employer's Guide to New Hire Reporting (04-6610 Rev 09/25)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Alabama has no state minimum wage or overtime law, so the federal FLSA test decides wage claims; the one state definition, in the labor-preemption article, says an independent contractor is a self-employed individual who meets the IRS definition. Special rules: Marketplace contractors (app-based platforms): under Ala. Code 25-5-1(4), ‘Pursuant to Section 25-4-10(b)(26), a marketplace platform shall not be considered to be an employer’ for workers’ compensation; the UI exclusion is in 25-4-10(b)(26); Ala. Code 37-3-50: a motor carrier safety improvement (device, training, policy and the like) ‘shall not be considered when determining an individual’s status as an employee or independent contractor’ under any state law; Portable Benefits Act (Act 2025-119, Ala. Code 25-1-70 to 25-1-72): a hiring party’s contribution to a contractor’s portable benefit account ‘may not be construed by an Alabama court as any element of an employment relationship’ (25-1-71(b)); the state tax deduction applies to tax years beginning after December 31, 2025 (ALDOR). Ala. Code 25-7-41(a)(5)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a worker is in employment if the usual common-law rules make the worker an employee; certain agent-drivers and full-time traveling salespersons are covered by statute; app-based marketplace contractors are excluded when the statutory conditions are met. Special rules: Marketplace contractor exclusion, Ala. Code 25-4-10(b)(26): not an employee of a marketplace platform if, among other conditions, both ‘agree in writing that the marketplace contractor is an independent contractor’ and the platform does not unilaterally set hours; Statutory employees under 25-4-10(a)(1)c.: agent-drivers or commission-drivers distributing meat, bakery products, beverages (other than milk) or laundry/dry cleaning; full-time traveling or city salespersons. Ala. Code 25-4-10(a)(1)b.
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. Alabama takes copies of Forms 1099 and participates in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program when no Alabama tax was withheld. 1099s that show voluntary Alabama withholding are filed with Form A-3 through My Alabama Taxes by January 31 and cannot use the combined program. No general state withholding on payments to contractors. Statutory duty: Ala. Code 40-18-26 ($1,500 or more). Alabama Department of Revenue, Information Return Filing Requirements (1099)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Arkansas uses one test across its labor laws: the business or agency weighs the federal common-law (IRS) control factors, and the statute lists 20 questions, such as who sets hours, who supplies tools, and whether the worker can profit or lose. Ark. Code 11-1-204, as amended by Act 743 of 2025, sec. 1
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, paid service counts as employment when the worker’s status, judged by the Empower Independent Contractors Act factors, is that of an employee; Arkansas no longer uses an ABC test here. Ark. Code 11-10-210(e), as amended by Act 743 of 2025, sec. 6
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. The DFA withholding instructions list, by January 31: file Copy 1 of all paper Forms 1099 with a photocopy of federal Form 1096, or file electronically through ATAP. No general state withholding on payments to resident contractors found. Arkansas DFA, Withholding Tax Instructions for Employers (calendar)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Arizona looks at who controls the work; a business that has the contractor sign the statutory Declaration of Independent Business Status, and then acts consistently with it, gets a rebuttable presumption that the worker is a contractor under Arizona’s labor laws. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Qualified marketplace contractors (app-based platforms) are independent contractors ‘for all purposes under state and local laws’ when paid by output under a written contract with the terms listed in A.R.S. 23-1603; The declaration does not apply to employing units licensed under Title 32, chapter 10 (contractors’ licensing) unless the work does not require that license, A.R.S. 23-1601(C); Control exercised only to comply with law, licensing or professional standards is not counted, A.R.S. 23-1602 (except for chapter 2, article 10). A.R.S. 23-1601(B)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a worker is an employee if the business directs or controls both how the work is done and the result; hours, location, freedom to work for others, tools, expenses and helpers are the listed signs of control. Special rules: Excludes independent contractors, business persons, agents, consultants and independent professions, A.R.S. 23-613.01(A)(1); Excludes workers the IRS has decided not to treat as employees for FUTA after an audit, and similarly situated classes, 23-613.01(A)(3)-(4); Excludes sports officials, certain contracted medical professionals and certain home care providers, 23-613.01(A)(5)-(7). A.R.S. 23-613.01(A)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Only when Arizona income tax was withheld: ‘Taxpayers only need to submit Form 1099-NEC if there is Arizona withheld,’ due January 31 with the A1-R reconciliation. No general state withholding on contractor payments was found. Arizona Department of Revenue, E-Services for W-2 / 1099
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. A worker paid for labor or services is an employee unless the hiring business proves all three: no control over the work, work outside the usual course of its business, and the worker runs an independently established business of the same kind. Special rules: Exemptions in Labor Code 2776-2784 (business-to-business contractors, professional services, referral agencies, construction subcontractors, and others): status is then decided under Borello; App-based rideshare and delivery drivers: independent contractors under Proposition 22 when the conditions in Bus. & Prof. Code 7451 are met; Express statutory exceptions and wage-order definitions stay in effect (Labor Code 2775(b)(2)). Cal. Labor Code 2775(b)(1)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment and state disability insurance tax the same ABC test applies, and some agent-drivers, full-time traveling salespersons and home workers are employees by statute. Special rules: Statutory employees, UIC 621(c): agent-drivers or commission-drivers (meat, vegetable, fruit, bakery products, beverages other than milk, laundry or dry cleaning), full-time traveling or city salespersons, home workers; Labor Code 2776-2784 exemptions and Prop 22 (Bus. & Prof. Code 7451, which overrides ‘the Unemployment Insurance Code’). Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code 621(b)
• Written contract law. Covers work worth $250 or more, alone or aggregated with all contracts between the same parties in the preceding 120 days. Freelance Worker Protection Act (SB 988), Bus. & Prof. Code 18100-18107, effective 2025-01-01, for contracts entered into or renewed on or after that date. Covers a one-person freelancer (incorporated or not) hired as a bona fide independent contractor for ‘professional services’ as defined in Labor Code 2778(b)(2). Hiring party: any person or organization in California, except governments and individuals hiring for personal, family or homestead benefit. The contract must be in writing; the hiring party must give the freelancer a signed copy and keep the contract at least four years. Waivers are void; retaliation is barred. Enforcement: civil action by the freelancer or a public prosecutor, with attorney’s fees; $1,000 extra if a requested written contract was refused; up to twice the unpaid amount for late payment. For any other violation, the court may award damages equal to the value of the contract or the work performed, whichever is greater (18106(b)(3)). If no written contract was given, the hiring party’s rate statements, the freelancer’s written summary of rate and work, and the work performed may prove a contract (18103(c)). Payment: On or before the date in the contract; if none, no later than 30 days after the freelancer completes the services. After work starts, the hiring party may not condition timely payment on accepting less pay or giving more work or IP rights. Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code 18103(a)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: $600 or more paid in a calendar year, or a contract for $600 or more, whichever is earlier, to an individual, sole proprietor or single-member LLC that gets a 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC. Within 20 calendar days (Form DE 542, through e-Services for Business); report each contractor once per calendar year. California takes Form 1099-NEC through the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program: ‘If you file using IRS Combined Federal/State Filing Program (CFSF), and amounts reported to IRS and FTB are identical, do not file separately with FTB.’ A return is due to the FTB when the recipient is a California resident or part-year resident, or the transaction was California-source. Whether the FTB applies the federal $2,000 threshold to 2026 payments was not found on an FTB page; the EDD contractor-report threshold stays $600 (UIC 1088.8, EDD page). Nonresident withholding: 7% of California-source nonwage payments to nonresidents once calendar-year payments exceed $1,500, using Forms 592, 592-V and 592-B; payments for services performed outside California are exempt. EDD, Independent Contractor Reporting (Cal. Unemp. Ins. Code 1088.8)
• Misclassification law. All persons and employers: willful misclassification as an independent contractor, and charging a willfully misclassified worker fees or deductions that would be unlawful for an employee. Civil penalty of $5,000 to $15,000 per violation; $10,000 to $25,000 per violation for a pattern or practice; in addition to other penalties. Licensed contractors are referred to the Contractors State License Board for discipline. The Labor Commissioner or a public prosecutor may recover the penalties as damages to the worker. Liability follows successor entities with the same principals in a similar business. An employee may recover either these damages or a PAGA civil penalty for the same violation, not both (226.8(g)(2)). ‘Willful misclassification’ means ‘avoiding employee status for an individual by voluntarily and knowingly misclassifying that individual as an independent contractor’ (226.8(i)(4)). After a determination, the employer must post on its website (or at each location where the violation occurred) a notice signed by an officer stating it was found to have willfully misclassified employees, that it changed its practices, and how to contact the Labor and Workforce Development Agency; posted for one year. Cal. Labor Code 226.8(a)(1), (b)
• City of Los Angeles. Covers work worth $600 or more in a calendar year for the same hiring entity, single or cumulative jobs, for work performed in the City. Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance, LAMC Chapter XVIII, Article 10 (Sec. 189.101 et seq.), effective 2023-07-01, enforced by the Office of Wage Standards (wagesla.lacity.gov). Hiring entity: an entity regularly engaged in business, excluding entities that hire app-based drivers. Both sides keep records four years; waivers void; retaliation barred. For contracts on or after 2025-01-01 the City ordinance covers only work not covered by the state Freelance Worker Protection Act (that is, non-‘professional services’ work). Payment: On or before the contract date; if no date or no written contract, no later than 30 calendar days after services are rendered. City of Los Angeles, Rules and Procedures Implementing the Freelance Worker Protections Ordinance (published 2025-10-20)

• Wage-law test. Under the Colorado Wage Act a worker is an employee unless the worker is primarily free from your control and direction, under the contract and in fact, and customarily runs an independent business in the same line of work. Special rules: Workers’ compensation uses the same two-part test plus the nine-factor written-document option (C.R.S. 8-40-202(2)); Delivery network company and transportation network company drivers have their own CDLE program pages; no separate classification test was found in Title 8. C.R.S. 8-4-101(5)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, service for pay is employment unless you show the worker is free from your control and direction and customarily runs an independent business; a signed document covering nine factors, with a bold disclosure about unemployment benefits and taxes, creates a rebuttable presumption of contractor status. Special rules: Written-document route: the signed document must show the hiring business does not require exclusive work, set a quality standard (plans and specs allowed), pay a salary or hourly rate, terminate mid-contract without breach, give more than minimal training, provide tools or benefits, dictate hours, pay the individual personally rather than the business name, or combine operations (8-70-115(1)(c)(I)-(IX)); The presumption needs a disclosure in larger, bold or underlined type that the contractor is not entitled to unemployment benefits and must pay federal and state income tax (8-70-115(2)). C.R.S. 8-70-115(1)(b)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: Contractors for whom you must report pay to the IRS (in practice, those who get a Form 1099-NEC; for payments made in 2026 the federal threshold is $2,000). The state child support site adds that contractors should be reported if they give you a Social Security number. Hires for less than 30 days need not be reported. Within 20 calendar days of hire, or with the first scheduled payroll if later. Colorado wants its own copy only of 1099s that show Colorado income tax withheld, sent in January with Form DR 1106. 1099s with no Colorado withholding do not go to the state. Withholding on contractor payments is voluntary. Payments to contractors are subject to income withholding orders for child support. C.R.S. 26-13-125(1)(a), as amended by HB21-1220; Colorado DOR, DR 1106
• Misclassification law. All employers. Two statutes: the unemployment insurance misclassification law (C.R.S. 8-72-114) and, since HB25-1001, a wage-law fine for misclassification (C.R.S. 8-4-113(1)(a)(I.5)). UI (8-72-114(3)(e)): back premiums plus interest; for willful disregard, up to $5,000 per misclassified employee for a first violation and up to $25,000 per employee for later ones, plus a ban of up to two years on state contracts after a later violation. Wage law (8-4-113(1)(a)(I.5), HB25-1001), per employee, on top of other relief: $5,000 for a willful violation; $10,000 for a violation not remedied within 60 days of the division’s finding; $25,000 for a second willful violation within five years; $50,000 for a second willful violation not remedied within 60 days. Amounts rise with Denver CPI by rule, first by January 1, 2028. Employers must post CDLE’s free notice on the right to be properly classified and the complaint process, conspicuously in the workplace (8-72-114(5)). Employers may request a paid written advisory opinion on a worker’s status (8-72-114(4)). C.R.S. 8-72-114(3)(e)(III)(A); HB25-1001 section 6 (C.R.S. 8-4-113(1)(a)(I.5))

Coming changes:

• From January 1, 2028. Colorado’s misclassification fines ($5,000 to $50,000 per worker) will rise with inflation starting in 2028. C.R.S. 8-4-113(1)(a)(I.5), HB25-1001

• Wage-law test. Connecticut’s wage-payment law covers anyone you suffer or permit to work; the statute names no contractor test, and the state labor department says each agency applies its own test, so treat the strict unemployment ABC test as the safe benchmark. Special rules: Workers’ compensation applies its own factors (CTDOL FAQ); an employer who in good faith relied on a worker’s representation as an independent contractor avoids direct-action liability (Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-284(b)). Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-71a(2)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance a worker is your employee unless you show all three: the worker is free from your direction and control, the work is outside your usual course of business or outside all your places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business of the same kind. Special rules: Agent-drivers and commission drivers, traveling or city salespersons and certain others are employees by statute (31-222(a)(1)(B)(iii)); Statutory carve-outs from employment include escort-vehicle operators and certain motor-carrier owner-operators meeting listed conditions (31-222(a)(5)). Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-222(a)(1)(B)(ii)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: Independent contractors whose contract’s expected value for the next calendar year is at least $5,000. Not later than 20 days after the date of employment (contract); electronic filers report at least twice a month, 12 to 16 days apart. Yes. File Form 1099-NEC and Form CT-1096 with DRS electronically by January 31 for payments to Connecticut residents, and to nonresidents for services performed wholly or partly in Connecticut, even with no Connecticut withholding. Connecticut is in the Combined Federal/State Filing program; a 1099-NEC sent that way satisfies DRS only if it shows no Connecticut withholding. Withholding: DRS says income not subject to federal withholding is in general not subject to Connecticut withholding, so ordinary payments to individual contractors carry no state withholding duty. DRS sets no separate dollar threshold; the federal threshold applies ($2,000 for payments made in 2026). Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-254(c)(1); DRS IP 2026(8)
• Misclassification law. All employers. Knowingly misrepresenting employees as independent contractors to an insurer to lower workers’ compensation premiums is a class D felony and triggers a stop-work order (31-288(g)); violations of 31-288(g) and the wage chapters carry a civil penalty to the Labor Department. Class D felony plus a stop-work order (31-288(g)); civil penalty of $300 per violation to the Labor Department, each day a separate offense (31-69a(a)); $5,000 per day for violating a stop-work order issued under 31-76a (31-69a(a)(1)(A)). Wage underpayments from misclassification also carry the general wage-law remedies. No Connecticut classification poster found. CTDOL runs a Joint Enforcement Commission on Worker Misclassification. Conn. Gen. Stat. 31-288(g); 31-69a(a)

• Wage-law test. DC’s minimum wage and wage-payment laws cover anyone you suffer or permit to work and state no contractor test; in construction, the Workplace Fraud Act presumes employment unless you prove an ABC-style test. Special rules: Construction services: D.C. Code § 32-1331.04(c) presumes an employer-employee relationship unless the employer shows the worker is an exempt person, or is free from control and direction (subject only to specifying the desired result), customarily engaged in an independently established business, and doing work outside the employer’s usual course of business. D.C. Code § 32-1301(2) (wage payment); § 32-1002(1A) (minimum wage)
• Unemployment test. For DC unemployment insurance, a worker is your employee if the usual common-law rules on control make the worker an employee; certain agent-drivers, commission drivers and full-time traveling or city salespeople are employees by statute. Special rules: Statutory employees: agent-drivers and commission-drivers distributing food, beverages or laundry services, and full-time traveling or city salespersons, among others, when the contract contemplates personal service, there is no substantial investment, and the relationship is continuing (§ 51-101(2)(A)(i)(III)). D.C. Code § 51-101(2)(A)(i)(II)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. File copies of Form 1099-NEC with the Office of Tax and Revenue on MyTax.DC.gov by January 31 when $600 or more is paid to a DC resident; for nonresidents, only if DC tax was withheld. DC is in the Combined Federal/State Filing program but still requires a separate direct filing. DC tax withheld on 1099 payments goes on Form FR-900NP (for TY2026, due January 31, 2027). DC’s latest published specification (TY2025) keeps the $600 threshold; no OTR text yet says whether DC follows the federal $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments. 25 or more forms must be filed electronically. OTR, 2025 MyTax 1099/W-2G filing specifications
• Misclassification law. Construction services industry only (Workplace Fraud Act, D.C. Code § 32-1331.01 et seq.). Civil penalty of $1,000 to $5,000 per misclassified employee (§ 32-1331.07(a)); $5,000 to $10,000 per retaliation violation (b); stop-work order and restitution (c); restitution and compliance within 30 days of a final order (d). More than two violations in a 2-year period: the employer chooses a $20,000 penalty per misclassified employee or 5-year debarment, and a debarred employer also pays $5,000 to $10,000 per employee (e). Private right of action within 3 years: lost pay plus an equal amount in liquidated damages, and up to $500 per violation; the court may award treble damages for lost wages and attorney’s fees (§ 32-1331.09). Construction employers must give each worker classified as an independent contractor or exempt person a written notice at hire explaining the classification and giving the Mayor’s contact information; $500 per individual not notified (§ 32-1331.12(b)). They must also keep classification and pay records for at least 3 years (§ 32-1331.12(a)). D.C. Code § 32-1331.07(a)

• Wage-law test. Delaware’s wage-payment law covers anyone you suffer or permit to work and excludes independent contractors without defining them; in construction, the Workplace Fraud Act presumes employment unless you meet a three-part ABC-style test. Special rules: Construction services: the Workplace Fraud Act (19 Del. C. ch. 35) presumes an employer-employee relationship unless the worker is free from control and direction, customarily engaged in an independently established business, and works outside the usual course of business (or is a registered contractor working outside the employer’s places of business). 19 Del. C. § 1101(a)(3)-(4)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, paid service is employment unless you show all three: the worker is free from your control and direction, the work is outside your usual course of business or outside all your places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business of the same kind. 19 Del. C. § 3302(14)(K)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. Delaware takes 1099-NEC data directly, for forms issued to Delaware residents (wherever the work was done) and to nonresidents for work performed in Delaware. Delaware is in the Combined Federal/State Filing program, but 1099-NEC data must still go directly to the Division of Revenue. Due dates follow the federal ones (1099-NEC for tax year 2025 was due 2/2/2026). Form WTH-REC is needed only when Delaware tax was withheld. No separate state dollar threshold is stated; the federal threshold applies ($2,000 for payments made in 2026). No Delaware withholding duty on ordinary contractor payments was found. 30 Del. C. § 1156A(a)
• Misclassification law. Construction services industry only (Workplace Fraud Act, 19 Del. C. ch. 35). Civil penalty of $5,000 to $20,000 per misclassified individual (§ 3505(a)). Stop-work order and up to $500 per day for failing to produce records within 30 days of a written request (§ 3505(b)). An employer found to have violated the Act twice in a 2-year period is assessed $20,000 per misclassified employee and may be debarred for 5 years (§ 3505(h)). Retaliation: $20,000 to $50,000 per violation (§ 3505(c)). Since SB 63 (85 Del. Laws c. 232, enacted over the governor’s veto in January 2026), a general contractor is jointly and severally liable for a subcontractor’s penalties and restitution, but not its debarment (§ 3505(j)), and is responsible for a subcontractor’s violations (§ 3503). Violators are listed on the Department’s website for 3 years (§ 3514). Private civil action within 3 years (§ 3510). Construction employers must give each worker classified as an independent contractor or exempt person a written notice at hire, in English and Spanish, explaining the classification and listing Department contact information, signed by both parties; $500 per individual not notified; compliance creates a presumption of good faith (§ 3511(b)-(e)). 19 Del. C. § 3505(a)

• Wage-law test. Florida’s minimum wage covers only workers entitled to the federal minimum wage under the FLSA, so the federal economic-realities test decides whether your worker is an employee for wage purposes. Special rules: Marketplace platforms for household services only (furniture assembly, interior painting, TV mounting, local moving help, hanging items, home cleaning, non-hardwired tech installation, door hardware; not work that needs a chapter 489 license): a marketplace contractor must be treated as an independent contractor for all state and local laws, including chapters 440 and 443, if six conditions are met: the platform sets no required hours, allows other platforms, allows other work, has a written independent-contractor agreement, the contractor bears substantially all expenses, and pays own taxes (ss. 451.01-451.02, F.S.); Workers’ compensation: outside construction, an independent contractor must meet at least four of the statutory criteria (separate business, FEIN, paid by job not hours, own expenses, own profit or loss, etc.); independent contractors in the construction industry are employees for workers’ compensation (s. 440.02(15), F.S.); Emergencies: aid a business gives an ‘engaged individual’ during a declared public health emergency or state of emergency may not be used as evidence of employment in wage, minimum wage or workers’ compensation actions (s. 448.111, F.S.). s. 448.110(3), F.S. (2026)
• Unemployment test. For Florida reemployment assistance (unemployment) tax, a worker is your employee if the usual common-law rules on control make the worker an employee. Special rules: Marketplace contractors meeting the six conditions of s. 451.02 are independent contractors for chapter 443; Workers supplied through an employee leasing company are the leasing company’s employees (s. 443.1216(1)(a)2.). s. 443.1216(1)(a)2., F.S. (2026)
• Reporting and 1099s. Within 20 days after the earlier of (1) the first payment that requires a federal information return under IRC 6041A(a), or (2) the date of the contract. Electronic filers may send two monthly transmissions 12 to 16 days apart. None. The Florida Constitution bars a state tax on the income of natural persons who are residents or citizens, so there is no state Form 1099-NEC filing and no state income tax withholding on contractor payments. s. 409.2576(3)(b), (4), F.S. (2026)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Georgia’s wage law has no worker-classification test of its own; a business should apply the federal FLSA economic-realities test and the common-law right-to-control test that Georgia courts use. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to.
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a worker paid wages is an employee unless the business shows the worker is free from control (judged by seven factors such as freedom to work for others, to refuse work and to set a schedule) and runs an independent business, or the IRS has ruled against employee status on Form SS-8. Special rules: A professional or occupational license alone does not satisfy the second prong; the worker must perform the licensed services for other clients (Rule 300-2-7-.13(3)); Music industry professionals under a written contract meeting 34-8-35(n)(15.1) are excluded; Services through a ‘network company’ (rideshare or app-based delivery) are excluded when a written contract bars set hours, forced acceptance, and restrictions on other platforms or work (34-8-35(n)(16.1)). O.C.G.A. 34-8-35(f), as amended by HB 389 (2021-2022 session, Act 809), Section 1
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Form 1099-NEC goes to Georgia DOR only if it reports Georgia withholding, qualified overtime or qualified cash tips; 1099-NECs with Georgia withholding are due January 31 (for 2026 payments: February 1, 2027, next business day). Georgia joins the Combined Federal/State Filing Program only for statements with no Georgia withholding. The state copy follows whatever the federal form requires; the DOR guide sets no separate dollar threshold. No general state withholding on payments to independent contractors. Exception: film and interactive entertainment production companies that pay a loan-out company must register a film withholding account, withhold, file quarterly and give the loan-out company Form G2-FP by January 31. Separate 4% withholding applies to nonresident members of pass-through entities, not to contractor pay. Georgia DOR, Employer's Withholding Tax Guide 2026 (revised June 2026)
• Misclassification law. All employing units under the Employment Security Law that fail to pay UI contributions for workers who are employees under 34-8-35(f). Civil penalty up to $2,500 per misclassified individual (fewer than 100 employees) or up to $7,500 per individual (100 or more employees), plus back contributions, the cost of the investigation and 1% interest per month on a delinquent fine. The Commissioner may waive the penalty. none found. O.C.G.A. 34-8-257(a), added by HB 389 (2022), Section 2

• Wage-law test. Hawaii’s wage and hour law defines employ as to permit or suffer to work, so a worker who depends on the business economically is likely an employee; the law has no separate contractor test. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Employees whose minimum wage and overtime are set by the federal FLSA are excluded from HRS 387 except where Hawaii’s minimum wage or workweek is more protective (HRS 387-1, ‘Employee’ (12)). HRS 387-1
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, anyone paid for services is an employee unless the business shows all three: no control, work outside the usual course or places of its business, and an independently established trade. HRS 383-6
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Hawaii requires state copies of Form 1099 (including 1099-NEC) from every person doing business in Hawaii who makes payments to another person. Paper copies go with Form N-196 by February 28 of the next year (next workday if a weekend or holiday). Hawaii joins the Combined Federal/State Filing Program; if filed that way, ‘No other report to the Department is necessary.’ The form sets no dollar threshold of its own for 1099-NEC, and DOTAX text read does not say whether Hawaii follows the federal $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments. No state withholding on contractor payments found. Hawaii DOTAX Form N-196 instructions (Rev. 2020; still the current form at files.hawaii.gov/tax/forms/current/n196.pdf)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Iowa’s wage payment law covers a person ’employed for wages’ and does not spell out a contractor test, so the usual common-law control factors decide; owner-operator truckers who meet the statutory conditions are carved out. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Owner-operator truck drivers who meet all conditions of Iowa Code 85.61(12)(c)(3)(b) (own the vehicle, bear operating costs, written contract, etc.) are not employees (91A.2(3)(c)); Clients obtaining professional services from a licensed person on a fee basis or as an independent contractor are not ’employers’ (91A.2(4)); Motor carriers: using a motor carrier safety improvement (cameras, software, training, safety policies) may not be counted when deciding whether a person is an employee or independent contractor under any Iowa law (Iowa Code 325B.2, 2025 Acts ch 5, in force July 1, 2025). Iowa Code 91A.2(3)(a), (3)(c)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a worker is an employee under the usual common-law rules; IWD presumes paid services are employment until the business shows the worker is an independent contractor. Special rules: Statutory employees regardless of common law: certain agent/commission drivers, full-time traveling or city salespersons, home workers (96.1A(16)(a)(3)); Owner-operator truckers meeting 85.61(12)(c)(3) are not employees of the employing unit (96.1A(15)); Motor carrier safety improvements are not a factor in employment status under any Iowa law (Iowa Code 325B.2). Iowa Code 96.1A(16)(a)(2); Iowa Admin. Code 871-23.19(1), (6)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: When the payor’s payments to the contractor exceed the amount that requires a federal 1099-MISC, and payment is not one lump sum within a calendar year; one report per contractor; covers natural persons 18 or older working in Iowa. Within 15 days of the date both conditions are met. Iowa wants 1099s (including 1099-NEC) only when they show Iowa income tax withheld; those must be e-filed with the Iowa Department of Revenue through GovConnectIowa by February 15. Iowa is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. No general state withholding on resident contractor payments; withholding applies to certain nonresident Iowa-source income (Iowa Code 422.16). Iowa Code 252G.4(1)(a); 252G.1(4)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. For Idaho wage-and-hour purposes, the Department of Labor treats a worker as a contractor only if free from direction and control over how the work is performed; some Idaho laws also require an established business. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Idaho Department of Labor, Labor Laws FAQ
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, paid services are covered employment unless the business shows the worker is free from control both by contract and in fact, and runs an independently established trade or business. Special rules: IDOL UI handbook: issuing a Form 1099 or paying commission only does not make a worker a contractor; Commission-only insurance agents and real estate associates/salespeople are exempt (Idaho Code 72-1316A(13), (14)). Idaho Code 72-1316(4)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Idaho takes 1099s two ways: 1099s with Idaho withholding go with Form 967 (Form 967 and W-2s due the last day of January; 1099s due the last day of February); 1099s without Idaho withholding go on paper with Form 96 or a copy of IRS Form 1096. Idaho joins the Combined Federal/State Filing Program (IRS permission required in advance). The Tax Commission page (updated 2026-09-16) states no dollar threshold and does not mention the federal $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments. No Idaho withholding rule on contractor payments found. Idaho State Tax Commission, Filing Information Returns (1099s, W-2s), updated 2026-09-16
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Under Illinois’s wage payment law, anyone the business permits to work is an employee unless all three are true: no control, work outside the usual course or places of the business, and an independently established business. Special rules: Construction: the Employee Classification Act (820 ILCS 185/10) applies its own ABC test plus a 12-factor test for legitimate sole proprietors and partnerships; Illinois Minimum Wage Law (820 ILCS 105/3(d)) has no ABC test: ‘Employee’ includes any individual permitted to work by an employer in an occupation. 820 ILCS 115/2
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, all paid service is employment until the business proves no control, work outside its usual course or places of business, and an independently established business. Special rules: Construction: Employee Classification Act (820 ILCS 185). 820 ILCS 405/212
• Written contract law. Covers work worth $500 or more, in one contract or aggregated over the preceding 120 days with the same contracting entity. Freelance Worker Protection Act (eff. July 1, 2024; applies to contracts taking effect after that date): written contract, a copy to the freelancer, payment on time, no demand to accept less pay once work starts, no retaliation, keep the contract at least 2 years and show it to IDOL on request. Covers freelancers working in Illinois or for an Illinois-based entity. Excludes construction services and workers who are employees under the ECA or the IWPCA. A contract term waiving these rights is void. Complaints go to IDOL within 2 years after final pay was due; IDOL notifies the business within 20 days and the business has 20 days to respond (no response creates a rebuttable presumption in a later lawsuit). Civil remedies: double the unpaid amount plus costs and attorney’s fees for late payment; $500 statutory damages for refusing a requested written contract (or the contract value if combined with another violation); the contract value per retaliation violation. Payment: by the contract’s due date; if none is set, no later than 30 days after the freelancer completes the services. Model contract 820 ILCS 193/15(a), (c)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: none stated in statute or on the IDES page (every independent contractor, not previously engaged or separated 60+ days). 20 days (statute: not later than 20 days after the date of hire). Illinois does not require Form 1099-NEC to be filed with the state unless IDOR asks; only Form 1099-K carries an e-filing mandate. Payers whose 1099s to individuals show Illinois withholding may file them voluntarily through the Illinois FIRE program or MyTax Illinois. Because no state copy is required, the federal $2,000 threshold question does not arise for Illinois filing. No state withholding required on payments to independent contractors found. Keep records 3 years (Pub. 110). 820 ILCS 405/1801.1(D)
• Misclassification law. Construction employers and contractors (Employee Classification Act, 820 ILCS 185). Civil penalty up to $1,000 per violation in the first audit and up to $2,000 per repeat violation within 5 years; each person and each day is a separate violation; willful violations up to double plus punitive damages to the worker; private right of action; inducing a waiver is a Class C misdemeanor. An entity with workers not classified as employees must post an IDOL notice (English, Spanish, Polish) on each job site and in each office. 820 ILCS 185/15(b), 185/40(a)
• Chicago. Domestic workers only (nannies, care workers, home cleaners): any domestic worker, employee or independent contractor, must get a written contract in the preferred language, effective January 1, 2022 (Chicago Municipal Code 6-120-020). Chicago has no general freelancer ordinance; its creative-worker page points to the state Freelance Worker Protection Act. Model contract Chicago Municipal Code 6-120-020 (as described by the City)

• Wage-law test. For wage claims, the Indiana Department of Labor treats a worker as misclassified when the worker meets the statutory or common-law definition of an employee; it names no specific test. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Indiana Department of Labor, Worker Misclassification
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, paid services are employment unless the business shows all three: freedom from control, work outside its usual course of business, and an independently established business of the same nature (or a commission-only sales agent). Special rules: Prong 3 alternative: a sales agent paid solely on commission who is master of his or her own time and effort (IC 22-4-8-1(b)(3)(B)); Agent-drivers/commission-drivers and certain full-time traveling or city salesmen are included as employment under IC 22-4-8-1(c)-(d). IC 22-4-8-1(b)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Indiana wants Forms 1099 only when they show Indiana state or county income tax withheld; those go with the annual WH-3 reconciliation (due January 31) through INTIME in the IRS 1220 format. A 1099-NEC with no Indiana withholding should not be submitted; keep it three years and produce it on request. So the federal $2,000 threshold question does not arise for Indiana filing of no-withholding 1099s. More than 25 withholding statements a year must be filed electronically. Combined Federal/State Filing participation not stated in DN #5. No general Indiana withholding on payments to independent contractors found. Indiana DOR Departmental Notice #5 (September 2023)
• Misclassification law. UI misclassification penalties apply to all employers. UI: unpaid contributions plus 1% interest per month for every misclassified quarter, and a 50% penalty on the unpaid taxes when the misclassification is intentional (DWD FAQ). none found. DWD, Indiana Unemployment Insurance Misclassified Worker FAQs (Sept. 3, 2019)

• Wage-law test. Kansas’s wage payment act covers anyone ‘allowed or permitted to work,’ and Kansas courts decide contractor status with the common-law right-to-control test; FedEx drivers were held employees under it. Special rules: Portable benefits: a hiring party’s contributions to an independent contractor’s portable benefit account may not be used to decide the worker’s classification (2026 HB 2602, signed; in force on publication in the statute book). K.S.A. 44-313(b) and annotations 21, 33
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a worker is an employee if the business can control not only the end result but the manner and means of the work; KDOL first checks whether the business had a reasonable basis for its classification, then weighs eight listed factors. Special rules: Owner-operators of a motor vehicle leased to a licensed motor carrier with a driver, not treated as an employee for FICA under the lease (44-703(i)(4)(Y)); Qualified real estate agents (44-703(i)(4)(Q)); Qualified direct sellers (44-703(i)(4)(V)). K.S.A. 44-703(i)(3)(D); K.S.A. 44-768
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. KDOR’s guide says that if you must file an information return (any 1099, including 1099-NEC) with the IRS, a copy must also go to the Department of Revenue by January 31. Kansas is in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program, and filing through the combined filing program can replace a separate Kansas filing, but 1099s that show Kansas withholding may NOT go through the combined filing program; they go through KDOR’s electronic upload with the KW-3. Payers with more than 50 records of one return type must file electronically. Nonresident withholding: management and consulting fees paid by a Kansas business to a nonresident who performs the services in Kansas are subject to 5% Kansas withholding; no general withholding on other contractor payments. K.S.A. 75-5743(a); KDOR KW-100 Withholding Tax Guide
• Misclassification law. All employers (any person); knowing and intentional misclassification to avoid state income tax withholding or UI contributions. First violation: civil penalty computed as K.S.A. 79-3228 prescribes (the income tax penalty section: percentage penalties on unpaid tax, for example 10% of the unpaid balance after a field audit and 50% where a return is not filed after notice). Second: civil penalty plus a class C nonperson misdemeanor. Third or later: civil penalty plus a class A nonperson misdemeanor. Cumulative with other employment security remedies. KDOL makes classification determinations and shares them with KDOR (44-767). None found. K.S.A. 44-766(a)

• Wage-law test. Kentucky’s wage-and-hour law covers anyone the business ‘suffered or permitted to work,’ which the Labor Cabinet says reaches further than the common-law control test; app-based marketplace contractors who meet six conditions are not employees. Special rules: Marketplace contractors of a digital marketplace platform are not employees for any state or local law if the six conditions of KRS 336.137(2) are met (written independent-contractor agreement, no required hours, no exclusivity, no restriction on other work, contractor bears expenses, platform supplies no tools); not for freight or parcel delivery (336.137(4)(c)). KRS 337.010(1)(e); 803 KAR 1:005 Section 1(2)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, a worker is covered if the usual common-law rules make the worker an employee; certain agent-drivers and full-time traveling salespeople are covered by statute. Special rules: Statutory employees: agent-drivers or commission-drivers distributing certain products, and full-time traveling or city salespersons (KRS 341.050(1)(c)); Marketplace contractors meeting KRS 336.137(2) are not employees for KRS Chapter 341. KRS 341.050(1)(a)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Kentucky wants Form 1099 data only when Kentucky tax was withheld; it does not participate in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program; file via MyTaxes.ky.gov (26 or more statements must be electronic, otherwise Form K-5); due January 31; paper 1099 copies are not processed. No general state withholding on contractor payments. KRS 405.435(1); Kentucky DOR Form 42A003 (Rev. March 2026)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Louisiana’s wage payment law does not define who is an independent contractor; Louisiana courts decide it with the common-law right-to-control analysis. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to.
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, paid services are employment unless the worker is free from control, the work is outside the usual course of the business or outside all its places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business; since August 1, 2021 a worker who controls the work and meets at least six of eleven listed criteria is presumed a contractor. Special rules: Qualified real estate agents and real estate/insurance instructors under written contract (R.S. 23:1472(12)(H)); The R.S. 23:1711.1 presumption does not apply to a motor carrier performing services under a contract with an owner-operator, or to services excluded from employment under 23:1472(12)(H) (R.S. 23:1711.1(B)); Act 455 of 2021, Section 3: the Act does not apply to persons licensed by the Department of Insurance, securities broker-dealers or registered investment advisers. La. R.S. 23:1472(12)(E); R.S. 23:1711.1
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. Since tax year 2022 every business that must file Form 1099-NEC with the IRS must also file it with LDR for services provided in Louisiana or by a Louisiana resident, by February 28. Louisiana takes 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC through the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program; otherwise file through LaWage (no paper). A 1099 showing Louisiana withholding goes with Form L-3 (due January 31). Because the duty follows the federal filing duty, the federal $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments carries through (our reading). No general state withholding on contractor payments found. La. R.S. 46:236.14(E); LDR FAQ, Form 1099-NEC
• Misclassification law. All employers under the Louisiana Employment Security Law (unemployment contributions). In addition to contributions, interest and penalties: $500 per misclassified individual for a first offense (waived if compliant within 60 days); $1,000 per individual after the first offense; $2,500 per individual thereafter. A knowing or willful violation also bars the employer from contracting with any state agency or political subdivision for three years. Every employer must post the LWC independent-contractor poster in a prominent place at each business premises. La. R.S. 23:1711(G)(1), (3), (4)

• Wage-law test. Under Massachusetts wage law anyone you pay to perform a service is your employee unless you can show the worker is free from your control, the work is outside your usual course of business, and the worker runs an independent business of the same kind. Special rules: Prong 2 has no ‘outside your places of business’ alternative, unlike the UI test; Not using withholding, UI contributions or workers’ compensation premiums does not count toward the determination (148B(b)); A sole proprietor’s own workers’ compensation policy is not considered (148B(c)). M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148B(a)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, paid service is employment unless you show the commissioner the worker is free from your control, the work is outside your usual business or outside all your places of business, and the worker runs an independent business of the same kind. Special rules: Statutory exclusions from ’employment’ in c. 151A, s. 6 (not catalogued in this pass). M.G.L. c. 151A, s. 2
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: Independent contractors who earn $600 or more annually from the payor (830 CMR 62E.2.1). Within 14 days of the contractor’s effective date of hire or reinstatement. Massachusetts requires Form 1099-NEC to be filed directly with DOR by January 31, through MassTaxConnect (paper allowed for fewer than 50 forms). Massachusetts takes part in the the combined filing program program, but 1099-NEC must still go directly to DOR. DOR names no separate dollar threshold, so the federal one applies. No general state withholding on payments to contractors found. 830 CMR 62E.2.1(6)(a); M.G.L. c. 62E, s. 2
• Misclassification law. All employers. Misclassifying under c. 149, s. 148B while failing to comply with wage, minimum wage, overtime, or withholding (c. 62B) law triggers c. 149, s. 27C penalties; c. 152 violations are punished under c. 152, s. 14. Corporate presidents, treasurers and managing officers are personally liable. Willful: fine up to $25,000 and/or up to 1 year in prison (first offense); up to $50,000 and/or 2 years (subsequent). Non-willful: up to $10,000 or 6 months (first); up to $25,000 or 1 year (subsequent). AG civil citations up to $25,000 per violation as an alternative; debarment from public works contracts. Workers who sue under c. 149, s. 150 are awarded mandatory treble damages plus attorneys’ fees. UI: c. 151A, s. 47. No classification notice or poster requirement found. M.G.L. c. 149, s. 148B(d); s. 27C(a)(1)

• Wage-law test. Under Maryland’s wage laws a worker you allow to work is generally treated as your employee, judged by how economically dependent the worker is on your business; construction and landscaping businesses face a stricter ABC presumption. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Construction services and landscaping services: Workplace Fraud Act ABC presumption of employment, Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. 3-902, 3-903 (see misclassification); Workplace Fraud Act ‘exempt person’ (sole proprietor with no employees other than spouse, children, parents, meeting six conditions), Lab. & Empl. 3-901(d); Presumption does not apply where the employer holds a signed written contract, affidavit, SDAT good-standing certificate, licenses, and gave the 3-914 notice, Lab. & Empl. 3-903.1. Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. 3-101(c)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, a paid worker is in covered employment unless the Secretary is satisfied the worker is free from your control, runs an independent business of the same kind, and does work outside your usual business or outside your places of business. Special rules: Lab. & Empl. 8-205(b) directs regulations with specific examples for the construction, landscaping, and home care services industries; Statutory exclusions elsewhere in Title 8, Subtitle 2 (not catalogued in this pass). Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. 8-205(a)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Maryland requires Forms 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC to be filed with the Comptroller only when Maryland tax was withheld (greater than zero), regardless of amount; due January 31; filed through Maryland Tax Connect (not SFTP). Maryland does NOT process 1099s from the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing Program. No general state withholding duty on payments to contractors found. Comptroller of Maryland, Reporting 1099 Instructions (2025 tax year)
• Misclassification law. Workplace Fraud Act, Lab. & Empl. 3-901 to 3-920: applies only to construction services and landscaping services employers (3-902). ABC presumption of employment (3-903). Any misclassification: within 45 days of a final order, pay restitution and come into compliance with tax, UI, wage and workers’ compensation law (3-907). Not corrected in time (non-knowing): up to $1,000 per employee (3-908(b)). Knowing misclassification: civil penalty up to $10,000 per misclassified employee (3-909(a)); may be doubled for a prior violation; up to $20,000 per employee for three or more violations; restitution plus up to three times restitution. Workers may sue for damages plus up to treble damages and fees for knowing violations (3-911). Up to $20,000 for anyone who forms an entity or aids an employer to evade the Act (3-915). Contractors on public-body contracts: payments withheld (3-913). Covered employers must give each individual classified as an independent contractor or exempt person written notice of the classification at hire, in English and Spanish, using MD Labor’s notice; up to $50 per day for failing to give it (3-914(b)-(e)). MD Labor also requires a workplace posting (employer FAQ). Records: name, address, occupation, classification, pay method, amounts and hours for each employee or contractor, kept 3 years (3-914(a)). Md. Code, Lab. & Empl. 3-909(a)

• Wage-law test. Maine’s wage payment law treats a worker as an independent contractor only if the worker meets the unemployment law’s test: free from the business’s essential direction and control, all five required criteria, and at least three of seven more. Special rules: Minimum wage and overtime subchapter (26 M.R.S. §663) defines ’employ’ as ‘to suffer or permit to work’ and does not cross-reference §1043(11)(E). 26 M.R.S. §591(3)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, paid services are employment unless the worker is free from the business’s essential direction and control and the business proves all five required criteria and at least three of seven others. Special rules: Owner-operators of a truck or truck tractor leased to a motor carrier, if not subject to FUTA (26 M.R.S. §1043(11)(F)(33)); Other listed exclusions in §1043(11)(F) (for example certain freelance writers and professional investigators). 26 M.R.S. §1043(11)(E)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: Contracts for services in Maine anticipated to equal or exceed $2,500 (payments or a contract totaling $2,500 or more in a year). Within 7 days of the earlier of first paying $2,500 in aggregate in a year or signing a contract for $2,500 or more. Yes, for payers that must e-file with the IRS (at least 10 Forms W-2 and 1099 in aggregate): Forms 1099 (including 1099-NEC) for Maine residents or Maine-source payments must also be e-filed directly with Maine Revenue Services through the Maine Tax Portal, whether or not Maine tax was withheld. Payers below that count may e-file voluntarily. MRS says not to use the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program and not to mail forms. The duty follows the federal filing duty, so the federal $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments carries through (our reading). Form W-3ME is discontinued for tax years after 2023. No general state withholding on resident contractor payments found. 19-A M.R.S. §2154(4-B)
• Misclassification law. All employers; intentional or knowing misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor. Civil violation, fine of $2,000 to $10,000 per violation; a misclassification finding may also bring penalties under 26 M.R.S. §§1051, 1082, 1225 (UI) and 39-A §§105-A, 324 (workers’ comp); under 39-A §407 a misclassifying employer is treated as having failed to secure compensation. Under 39-A §407, an employer that has misclassified one or more employees ‘has failed to secure payment of compensation’ and is subject to the §324(3) penalties. None found in the statute. 26 M.R.S. §591-A

• Wage-law test. Michigan’s minimum wage law treats anyone you ‘engage, suffer, or permit to work’ as employed, and the question is judged by the economic reality of the relationship, as under the federal FLSA. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: The Improved Workforce Opportunity Wage Act covers employers with 2 or more employees (MCL 408.932(d)); Workers’ compensation uses its own statutory test plus the IRS 20-factor test (MCL 418.161(1)(n)). MCL 408.932(b)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, Michigan decides employee status with the IRS 20-factor common-law test, and any worker you must withhold federal income tax from is presumed an employee. Special rules: Statutory exclusions in MCL 421.43 (not catalogued in this pass); Pre-2013 rule (control or direction) no longer applies. MCL 421.42(5)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Michigan requires the state copy of every Form 1099-NEC issued to a Michigan resident to be filed directly with Treasury, whether or not tax was withheld and wherever the payer is based. 1099-NEC is in the federal the combined filing program program but Michigan still requires direct filing. Due January 31 (same as federal). No transmittal form required. No general state withholding on payments to contractors found. Michigan Department of Treasury, Income Record Form Remittance Guide
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. For Minnesota’s misclassification and labor-standards purposes a worker’s status is decided with the same common-law control tests used for workers’ compensation and unemployment insurance, while construction workers are employees unless their business meets all 14 statutory requirements. Special rules: Building construction or improvement services: Minn. Stat. 181.723, subd. 4 – the individual must operate as a business entity meeting all 14 requirements (separate business, own tools, multiple clients, EIN and tax filings, good standing, UI account, workers’ compensation, licenses, signed written contract within 30 days paying per job or bid, invoices in the entity’s name with no cash payments, control, main expenses, completion responsibility, profit or loss); applies for chapters 176, 177, 181, 181A, 182, 268 and 326B; Transportation network company drivers: separate minimum-compensation protections in Minn. Stat. ch. 181C (DLI lists them); not a classification test (not opened in this pass). Minn. Stat. 181.722, subd. 3
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, Minnesota asks whether the worker is a common-law employee, weighing your right to control how the work is done and your right to discharge the worker without liability most heavily. Special rules: Construction industry employment defined separately (Minn. Stat. 268.035, subd. 9a); Trucking and messenger/courier industry employment defined separately (268.035, subd. 25b); FICA statutory employees (26 U.S.C. 3121(d)(3)(A) and (D)) and retail product demonstrators are in employment. Minn. Stat. 268.035, subd. 15(a)(1)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Minnesota requires Form 1099 information that reports Minnesota withholding to be sent to the Department of Revenue by January 31, even for the combined filing program participants. More than 10 forms (W-2s plus 1099s) must be filed electronically. The fact sheet sets no direct-filing duty for a 1099-NEC with no Minnesota withholding. No general state withholding on payments to contractors found. Minnesota Department of Revenue, Withholding Fact Sheet 2a, Submitting Form 1099 Information
• Misclassification law. All persons in all industries (Minn. Stat. 181.722, as rewritten by 2024 c. 127 art. 10); building construction has its own provisions (181.723, subd. 7). Bars failing to classify, report or treat an employee as an employee, and bars requiring an employee to sign a document calling them a contractor. Owners, officers and agents who knowingly or repeatedly violate can be personally liable; orders bind successor businesses. Compensatory damages (wages, overtime, paid time off, benefits, UI, Social Security and Medicare contributions, costs); up to $10,000 per misclassified individual; up to $10,000 per violation of the prohibitions; $1,000 per day for delaying or obstructing the commissioner’s investigation. Courts report findings to Revenue, DEED, Commerce, the IRS and US DOL. Construction: same schedule under 181.723, subd. 7(g), plus a 3-year duty to keep the documents supporting each contractor determination (subd. 7(f)). No classification notice or poster requirement found. Minn. Stat. 181.722, subd. 4(a)(2)

• Wage-law test. Missouri’s minimum wage and overtime law follows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act, so a worker is classified with the federal economic-realities test. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Public-works misclassification law (RSMo 285.500-285.515) uses the IRS Rev. Rul. 87-41 twenty-factor test. RSMo 290.505.4
• Unemployment test. Pay for services counts as covered employment unless the business shows the division that the worker is an independent contractor under the common-law right-to-control test. Special rules: Licensed real estate salespersons and brokers paid by output under a written contract (288.034.12(16)); Direct sellers (288.034.12(17)); Commission-only licensed insurance agents (288.034.12(12)). RSMo 288.034.5
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Required, filed directly with the Department of Revenue when you must file the same 1099 with the IRS and Missouri-source payments are $1,200 or more. Missouri is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program for tax year 2025. Because the duty follows the federal filing duty, a 2026 Form 1099-NEC goes to Missouri only when it is also due federally (over the federal $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments) and Missouri-source pay is $1,200 or more; Missouri DOR, 2025 Employer Reporting of 1099 Instructions & Specifications Handbook, sec. 2.1
• Misclassification law. Employers with five or more individuals performing public works (RSMo 285.500); not all employers. $50 per day per misclassified worker, up to $50,000, on a court finding of knowing misclassification; Attorney General investigates and may enter consent judgments. None found. RSMo 285.515

• Wage-law test. Mississippi has no state minimum-wage or overtime law with its own contractor test, so for wage purposes a Mississippi business applies the federal FLSA test. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Workers’ compensation has its own test (Miss. Code Ann. 71-3-3); not opened in this pass.
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, paid work is employment unless you show MDES the worker is and will stay free from your control both under the contract and in fact; status follows common-law master-and-servant principles, and MDES, not the parties, decides. Special rules: Statutory exclusions elsewhere in Miss. Code Ann. 71-5-11 (not catalogued in this pass). Miss. Code Ann. 71-5-11(I)(14) (Rev. 2021), as quoted by the Mississippi Supreme Court in MDES v. Dover Trucking, LLC, No. 2020-CC-01267-SCT
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Mississippi DOR takes 1099s through TAP or FSET in the IRS Publication 1220 format. Electronic filing is required with 10 or more 1099s (DOR mandate, tax years from 2024). 1099 information filed electronically is due February 28. Penalty for not filing an information return: $5 per statement (minimum $250, maximum $10,000 per account); $25 per statement for intentional disregard (maximum $50,000). DOR pages do not say whether every 1099-NEC must be filed or only those with Mississippi withholding, or whether Mississippi takes 1099-NEC through the combined filing program. No general state withholding on payments to contractors found. Mississippi DOR Pub. 89-145 (2025), Withholding Procedures and Specifications for Filing Wage and Tax Information Electronically
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Montana’s wage payment law covers anyone who works for another for hire but excludes independent contractors; in practice a worker is a contractor only if free from your control and running an independent business, and an ICEC is the state’s proof of that status. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Construction contractors must also register under MCA 37-45-102 (department FAQ). MCA 39-3-201(4)
• Unemployment test. Paid services are employment under Montana UI until the business shows the department the worker is an independent contractor; an ICEC holder is a contractor, and a worker without one is not an employee for that reason alone. MCA 39-51-203(4); 39-51-201(15)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Required. File Form 1099-NEC with the Montana Department of Revenue when you pay a Montana resident or Montana business; due January 31. A Form MW-3 goes with the 1099s only if Montana tax was withheld. Montana is also in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. DOR says it will soon require IRIS XML format for electronic 1099 uploads; no date given. IRS Publication 1220, Part A Sec. 12, Table 1
• Misclassification law. All employers, under the workers’ compensation act: an employer may not force a worker into contractor status or exert control that breaks the contractor relationship. Department fines per violation: up to $1,000 (first; may be waived after a department education program), up to $2,500 (second), up to $5,000 (third), $5,000 (fourth and later), plus certificate suspension/revocation and fraud-office referral for the certificate holder. None found. MCA 39-71-419(2)

• Wage-law test. North Carolina’s Wage and Hour Act copies the federal rule that to employ means to suffer or permit to work, so wage claims turn on whether the worker is economically dependent on the business. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. N.C. Gen. Stat. 95-25.2(3)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, North Carolina adopts the federal definition of employee, which uses the IRS common-law control test. N.C. Gen. Stat. 96-1(b)(10)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. No general state copy of Form 1099-NEC: North Carolina requires a copy of a federal 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC only when it reports North Carolina tax withheld, filed with Form NC-3 by January 31. North Carolina joins the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. Withholding: a payer who pays more than $1,500 in a year to a ‘payee’ must withhold 4%. A payee is an ITIN contractor, a person performing services in North Carolina who gives no taxpayer identification number or an invalid one, or a nonresident contractor; ‘nonresident contractor’ covers only nonresident performers, entertainers, athletes, speakers and film, radio or TV work, not every out-of-state contractor. N.C. Gen. Stat. 105-163.3(a)
• Misclassification law. All employers: the Employee Fair Classification Act (G.S. 143-785 to 143-791) sets up an Employee Classification Section in the Industrial Commission to take reports, investigate and refer cases to the tax, labor, unemployment and workers’ compensation agencies. The Act adds no new penalty amounts; it recovers back taxes, wages, benefits and penalties under the existing laws. License applicants must certify they have read the public notice and disclose misclassification investigations, or the license is denied. The Section must publish a public notice defining misclassification (G.S. 143-788(a)(5)); no employer posting duty found. N.C. Gen. Stat. 143-786(a)(5)

• Wage-law test. North Dakota’s wage rules use the common-law control test from the unemployment rules, weighing about 20 factors as a whole. A worker or would-be contractor can ask the Labor Commissioner to verify contractor status (N.D.C.C. 34-05-01.4). Special rules: App-based ride drivers: a transportation network company driver is an independent contractor, not an employee, if the company signs a contractor agreement, does not set required hours, allows outside work and other platforms, does not end the contract for refusing a ride, and does not bar gas-engine vehicles (N.D.C.C. 39-34-03.1, enacted 2023): N.D. Admin. Code 46-02-07-02(14) (Minimum Wage and Work Conditions Order)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, paid services are presumed to be employment unless the business shows the worker is an independent contractor under the common-law control test; North Dakota replaced its ABC test with this test in 1991. Special rules: App-based ride drivers: a transportation network company driver is an independent contractor, not an employee, if the company signs a contractor agreement, does not set required hours, allows outside work and other platforms, does not end the contract for refusing a ride, and does not bar gas-engine vehicles (N.D.C.C. 39-34-03.1, enacted 2023): N.D. Cent. Code 52-01-01(17)(e)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. North Dakota expects copies of Forms 1099. A business with a North Dakota withholding account files Form 307 by filing W-2s and any 1099s that show North Dakota tax electronically by January 31; other 1099s are due by the IRS due date. North Dakota joins the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program, which forwards 1099-NEC copies. No state withholding on contractor pay found. N.D. Cent. Code 34-15-03; IRS Pub. 1220 Sec. 12, Table 1
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Under Nebraska’s wage payment law, services you pay for count as employment unless the worker is free from your control, the work is outside your usual business or places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business. Special rules: Construction: Employee Classification Act presumes construction workers are employees unless they meet the UI ABC test, are registered under the Contractor Registration Act, and have a UI combined tax rate or exemption (Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2903). Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-1229(1)
• Unemployment test. Paid services are employment for Nebraska unemployment insurance unless the business shows the commissioner all three ABC conditions are met. Special rules: App-based work: service by a ‘marketplace network contractor’ through a ‘marketplace network platform’ is not UI employment if they agree in writing that the worker is an independent contractor, the platform does not set required hours, does not bar work for others, and may not end the contract for refusing a specific request (48-604(6)(w), added by LB229, approved March 11, 2025). It does not apply where federal unemployment tax is required on the services; Annotation (Omaha World-Herald v. Dernier, 253 Neb. 215 (1997)): the ABC test in 48-604(5) does not govern whether someone is employed under a contract of hire. Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-604(5)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: No dollar threshold in the statute; independent contractors are included in the new-hire definition of employee. New-hire report within 20 days of hire or rehire. Nebraska copies of 1099s (only when Nebraska tax was withheld) go with Form W-3N by January 31. Nebraska participates in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. DOR does not require 1099s unless Nebraska tax was withheld; then they go with Form W-3N. Withholding: a payor must withhold Nebraska tax on payments to nonresident non-employees for personal services in Nebraska (more than $600 if the payor has an office or does business in Nebraska, or more than $5,000 otherwise), at 4% of net payment under $28,000 and 6% at $28,000 or more; unregistered construction contractors face 5% withholding. Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2302
• Misclassification law. Construction industry only (Employee Classification Act, Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2901 et seq.); contractors performing construction labor services. Administrative penalty up to $500 per misclassified individual (first offense) and up to $5,000 per misclassified individual (second or later), in addition to other penalties; unpaid penalty bars the contractor from state and local government contracts. Construction contractors must post a notice in English and Spanish at the job site or place of business telling workers of their right to be properly classified and to contact the Department of Labor (48-2910). Neb. Rev. Stat. 48-2907

• Wage-law test. Under New Hampshire wage law a worker is an employee unless they meet all seven criteria: a tax ID (EIN or SSN, or a written agreement to carry the employer duties of the wage chapter), control over how the work is done, control over when it is done, hiring and paying their own helpers, holding themselves out as a business, responsibility for completing the work, and freedom to work for others. Special rules: Persons exempted in RSA 281-A:2, VI(b)(2)-(4) and VII(b) (e.g., direct sellers, qualified real estate brokers) are excluded; Persons providing services as part of a residential placement for individuals with disabilities; Portable benefits (RSA 283-A, eff. Aug. 31, 2026): offering or paying into a contractor’s portable benefit account, and withholding contractor pay for it under a written opt-in agreement, are excluded when deciding employee vs contractor status under RSA 275, RSA 282-A or any other state labor, tax or benefits statute. RSA 275:42, II
• Unemployment test. Paid services are employment for New Hampshire unemployment insurance unless the business shows the commissioner the worker is free from control, the work is outside the usual business or places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business. Special rules: Portable benefits (RSA 283-A, eff. Aug. 31, 2026): offering or paying into a contractor’s portable benefit account, and withholding contractor pay for it under a written opt-in agreement, are excluded when deciding employee vs contractor status under RSA 275, RSA 282-A or any other state labor, tax or benefits statute. RSA 282-A:9, III
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: Contracts for services (other than casual labor) with an individual when pay is anticipated to exceed $2,500, or actual pay exceeds $2,500 in a calendar year. Within 20 days of the hire, rehire or contract for services; electronic reporters may send two monthly transmissions 12 to 16 days apart. None. New Hampshire has no tax on wages or earned income, is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program, and has no state withholding on contractor payments. RSA 282-A:117-a, I(c) and IV
• Misclassification law. All employers (workers’ compensation law, RSA 281-A:2, VI(d)). Labor commissioner may assess up to $2,500 for misrepresenting the employer-worker relationship, plus $100 per employee per day of noncompliance, from the first day of the infraction for up to one year; a person who controls pay decisions and knowingly violates is personally liable for the fines. None found. RSA 281-A:2, VI(d)

• Wage-law test. New Jersey treats a worker as an employee under its Wage Payment Law and Wage and Hour Law unless the business proves all three ABC prongs; since October 1, 2026, NJDOL rules at N.J.A.C. 12:11 spell out how each prong is applied. Special rules: N.J.A.C. 12:11 keeps statutory exemptions, e.g. the Wage and Hour Law overtime exemptions at N.J.S.A. 34:11-56a4 (executive, administrative, professional; farm, hotel, limousine); Construction: Construction Industry Independent Contractor Act, N.J.S.A. 34:20-1 et seq. (not opened). N.J.A.C. 12:11-1.1(b) (adopted 58 N.J.R. 1587(a); operative October 1, 2026)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment and temporary disability contributions, a paid worker is an employee unless the business proves the worker is free from its control, the work is outside its usual business or places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business. Special rules: Statutory exclusions at N.J.S.A. 43:21-19(i)(7), (i)(9) and (i)(10) still apply (named in N.J.A.C. 12:11-1.1(c)). N.J.S.A. 43:21-19(i)(6)(A)-(C); NJDOL, Independent Contractors and Misclassification
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: No dollar threshold stated; any independent contractor transacting business in New Jersey. Within 20 days (the new-hire deadline). New Jersey requires its own copy of a 1099 when the payment is $1,000 or more in a calendar year, or when any New Jersey income tax was withheld. It does not follow the federal $2,000 threshold. File by February 15 of the next year, electronically (with Form NJ-W-3 when NJ tax was withheld). Filing through the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program also satisfies the copy rule. No general withholding on contractor pay; one exception: a payer of an unincorporated, unregistered construction contractor must get the contractor’s Business Registration Certificate or withhold 7% (homeowners on their principal residence are exempt). N.J.S.A. 2A:17-56.61; NJ Child Support Employer Services Portal
• Misclassification law. All employers (2019-2020 law package: penalties, stop-work orders, required poster, public listing of violators, joint liability). Administrative misclassification penalty up to $250 per misclassified employee for a first violation and up to $1,000 per employee for each later violation; plus up to 5% of the worker’s gross earnings over the past 12 months, paid to the worker (N.J.S.A. 34:1A-1.18). Stop-work orders for wage, benefit and tax law violations (N.J.S.A. 34:1A-1.17). Liquidated damages up to 200% of wages owed (NJDOL page). Employers covered by state wage, benefit and tax laws must conspicuously post the NJDOL misclassification notice (N.J.S.A. 34:1A-1.19; form MW-899): N.J.S.A. 34:1A-1.18 (P.L.2019, c.373)

• Wage-law test. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Paid sick leave (Healthy Workplaces Act, in force since July 1, 2022) has its own right-to-control definition: an independent contractor is a person whose hirer ‘may direct the result to be accomplished but does not have the right to control the manner in which the details’ of the work are done (HB 20, 2021, Sec. 2(I)). 11.1.4.7(C)-(D) NMAC (Minimum Wage Act rules; NMSA 1978, 50-4-1 and 50-4-21)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a paid worker is an employee unless the business proves the worker is free from its control, the work is outside its usual business or all its places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business of the same kind. NMSA 1978, 51-1-42(F)(5); NM DWS, Information about Misclassification
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. New Mexico does not require its own copy of Form 1099-NEC. Forms 1099-NEC or 1099-MISC that show withholding reported on Form TRD-41409 are ‘not required by statute to be reported to the Department’, though a payer may send them. New Mexico joins the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. No general state withholding on contractor pay. NMSA 1978, 50-13-1 to 50-13-4; NM New Hire Directory FAQ; IRS Pub. 1220 Sec. 12, Table 1
• Misclassification law. All employers covered by the Healthy Workplaces Act (paid sick leave; all private employers). Misclassifying an employee as a contractor to deny earned sick leave is a violation of the Act. No general misclassification penalty statute beyond this and UI contribution assessments. In a court action under the Act: for each misclassification of an employee as an independent contractor, actual damages or $500, whichever is greater (plus the Act’s other remedies). No classification-specific poster found (the Act’s general sick-leave notice applies). Healthy Workplaces Act, HB 20 (2021), Sec. 3(I) and remedies section (NMSA 1978, 50-17-1 et seq.); effective July 1, 2022

• Wage-law test. Under Nevada’s wage law a worker is conclusively presumed a contractor if they have (or applied for) an EIN or SSN, or filed a business or self-employment return last year; the contract requires them to hold their business and occupational licenses, insurance or bonding; and they meet at least three of five factors: control over how the work is done, control over hours, freedom to work for others, freedom to hire help, and a substantial capital investment. Special rules: Construction (NRS 624-licensed contractors and workers they pay for licensed labor): an ABC-style test in NRS 608.0155(2); Failing the 3-of-5 criteria does not by itself make the worker an employee (608.0155(3)). NRS 608.0155(1)
• Unemployment test. Paid services are employment for Nevada unemployment insurance unless the business shows the Administrator the worker is free from control, the work is outside the usual business or places of business, and the worker runs an independently established business of the same kind. NRS 612.085
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. None. Nevada has no state personal income tax, is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program, and has no state withholding on contractor payments. NRS 606.120(1)
• Misclassification law. All employers under NRS chapter 608. First offense: a warning from the Labor Commissioner. Second or later: $5,000 fine for each employee willfully misclassified. Employer also liable to the worker for lost wages, benefits or other economic damages after a hearing (NRS 608.410); worker may file a complaint, decided within 120 days. None found in NRS 608.400-608.410; notice and hearing for the employer before a penalty (NRS 607.207). NRS 608.400

• Wage-law test. Outside construction and commercial trucking, New York decides employee status under its Labor Law by the degree of supervision, direction and control the business has over the work, looking at all the facts rather than the contract label. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Construction: Construction Industry Fair Play Act (Labor Law Article 25-B, 861 et seq.) presumes employee status unless all three ABC facts apply; Commercial goods transportation drivers: Commercial Goods Transportation Industry Fair Play Act (Labor Law Article 25-C, effective April 10, 2014) presumes employee status unless the driver is a separate business entity or passes an ABC test. NYS DOL, Independent Contractors
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, a worker is an employee when the business controls the manner, means and results of the work; signing a contractor statement, a 1099 or a required DBA does not change that. Special rules: Construction and commercial goods transportation use the Fair Play Act tests (see test_wage). NYS DOL, Independent Contractors
• Written contract law. Covers work worth $800 or more, alone or combined with all contracts between the same parties in the preceding 120 days. Statewide Freelance Isn’t Free Act (General Business Law Article 44-A, sections 1410-1415), in force since August 28, 2024. Covers any private hiring party (governments are excluded). Freelancer means one person (incorporated or not) paid $800 or more, alone or aggregated over the prior 120 days; sales representatives, lawyers, licensed medical professionals and construction contractors are excluded. Written contract required; the hiring party must give the freelancer a copy and keep it for at least six years (failure creates a presumption that the freelancer’s terms apply). Pay by the contract date, or within 30 days of completion; once work starts, the hiring party may not demand that the freelancer accept less pay as a condition of timely payment. No retaliation. Remedies: freelancer lawsuit ($250 statutory damages for a missing contract if the freelancer asked for one; double damages and attorney fees for late or short payment; contract value for retaliation), Attorney General actions with civil penalties up to $1,000 / $2,000 / $3,000, and up to $25,000 for a pattern or practice. Does not displace the New York City law. Payment: On or before the date in the contract; if none, no later than 30 days after the freelancer completes the work. Model contract N.Y. Gen. Bus. Law 1410(3)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: Independent contractor arrangements with contracts in excess of $2,500. Within 20 calendar days (the new-hire deadline). New York does not require a state copy of Form 1099-NEC and is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. New York requires 1099-R reporting only when NY State, NYC or Yonkers tax was withheld. No state withholding on contractor pay found. N.Y. Tax Law 171-h; NYS Dept. of Taxation and Finance, New hire reporting
• Misclassification law. Construction employers (Construction Industry Fair Play Act, Labor Law Article 25-B) and commercial goods transportation employers (Labor Law Article 25-C). Construction (Labor Law 861-e): willful misclassification draws a civil penalty up to $2,500 per misclassified employee for a first violation and up to $5,000 per employee for each later violation within five years; a misdemeanor with up to 30 days in jail or a fine up to $25,000 (first offense), up to 60 days or $50,000 later; officers and 10% shareholders who knowingly permit it are liable; debarment from public work up to one year (five for a later violation). Failure to post the notice: up to $1,500 first, up to $5,000 later within five years (861-d). Commercial goods transportation (Article 25-C) has a parallel scheme, not opened this pass. N.Y. Labor Law 861-e(3)
• New York City. Covers work worth $800 or more, including all agreements totaling $800 in any 120-day period. Freelance Isn’t Free Act (NYC Admin. Code Title 20, Chapter 10), enforced by DCWP: written contract, timely payment, no retaliation; late or unpaid freelancers can collect double the unpaid amount plus fees. Payment: By the contract date; if none, within 30 days after the freelancer completes the work. Model contract NYC Admin. Code Title 20, Ch. 10; NYC DCWP, Freelance Worker Rights

• Wage-law test. For Ohio minimum wage, the words employer, employee and employ take their meaning from the federal FLSA, so the federal economic-realities test decides who is a contractor. Special rules: ORC 4111.03 overtime applies ‘in the manner and methods provided in’ FLSA sections 7 and 13; Construction contractors face a separate 20-factor presumption under the unemployment law (ORC 4141.01(B)(2)(k)). Ohio Const. Art. II, Sec. 34a
• Unemployment test. Service for pay is employment for unemployment tax unless the worker is free from direction or control, both by contract and in fact; the agency weighs 20 common-law factors. Special rules: Construction: ORC 4141.01(B)(2)(k) presumes the right to direct or control when 10 or more of 20 listed criteria apply; Motor carriers: ORC 4141.01(B)(2)(m) excludes vehicle owner-operators who meet listed factors, including a written independent-contractor contract. ORC 4141.01(B)(1); Ohio Adm.Code 4141-3-05
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: $2,500 or more a year (individual, sole shareholder or sole LLC member; licensed professionals working under their license are excluded). within 20 days of engaging or re-engaging the contractor. Ohio takes part in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. Ohio Department of Taxation guidance on employer withholding names only W-2 and 1099-R statements for the IT 3 transmittal and the Gateway upload; no Ohio rule to file Form 1099-NEC with the state was found. Ohio has no general withholding on payments to contractors. ORC 3121.89(A); 3121.893
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Oklahoma’s wage payment law covers ‘any person permitted to work by an employer’ and names no contractor test, so the federal economic-realities approach is the working guide. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: The state Minimum Wage Act (40 O.S. 197.4) uses ‘to suffer or to permit to work’ and does not apply to employers subject to and paying under the FLSA; Workers’ compensation has its own independent-contractor definition in Title 85A (not opened this pass); Motor carriers: 47 O.S. 230.18 (SB 1930, effective 2024-11-01) says a motor carrier safety improvement “shall not be considered when evaluating an individual’s status as an employee or independent contractor … under any state law.” 40 O.S. 165.1(2)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, Oklahoma uses the IRS 20-factor test, and the Employment Security Commission alone decides whether a worker is a contractor or an employee. Special rules: Owner-operator truck drivers who own or lease and drive the truck, where the contracting entity is not the lessor (40 O.S. 1-210(15)(v)); Landmen under a written contract paid by task (1-210(15)(x)); Booth-renting cosmetologists and barbers; in-home direct sellers paid by commission (1-210(15)(q),(r),(u)). 40 O.S. 1-210(14)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. Oklahoma takes part in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program, but Form 1099-NEC is not part of it in Oklahoma and must be filed directly with the Oklahoma Tax Commission by January 31. Oklahoma sets its own threshold and does not follow the federal $2,000 level: Form 501 instructions (revised 2025) say to report payments to professional individuals of $750 or more, made to an Oklahoma resident or to a nonresident working in Oklahoma. The rule is not limited to forms with Oklahoma withholding. No general withholding on contractor payments; nonresident withholding applies to royalties and pass-through distributions only. Oklahoma Tax Commission, Tax Document Filing Information
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. For wage and hour claims, Oregon’s labor bureau (BOLI) uses the federal economic-realities test, weighing six factors with none decisive; a contract label does not settle status. Special rules: Construction (ORS 652.197, 2025 c.287 §2): in wage suits against owners and direct contractors, a person doing labor on a covered project is presumed an employee unless they meet ORS 670.600; ORS 670.600 governs instead for revenue (ch. 316), workers’ compensation (ch. 656), unemployment (ch. 657) and construction/landscape licensing (ch. 671, 701). BOLI, Employee or Independent Contractor
• Unemployment test. Pay for services is presumed to be employment for unemployment tax unless the worker meets Oregon’s statutory contractor definition: free from direction and control, customarily in an independently established business (three of five criteria), and properly licensed. Special rules: ORS 670.600(4): the independent-business prong does not apply to a person who files a Schedule F and provides farm labor or farm services; Chapter 657 also lists specific excluded services (e.g., ORS 657.085 to 657.094; not opened this pass). ORS 657.040(1); ORS 670.600(2)-(3)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: no dollar threshold; an independent contractor who must file a W-9 and is expected to perform services for more than 20 days. within 20 days of engaging or re-engaging the contractor. Yes. Oregon is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program, so 1099s go to the Oregon Department of Revenue through iWire. Required forms include the 1099-NEC and 1099-MISC, with no withholding-only limit; the 1099-NEC is due January 31. On the threshold, the iWire FAQ asks whether Oregon will align with the IRS rise from $600 to $2,000 and answers “Yes.” From tax year 2026 Oregon accepts only IRIS-formatted files. Penalties reach $25,000 for late, incorrect or non-electronic filing. No general state withholding on contractor payments found. ORS 25.790(2)(a), (4)(b)
• Misclassification law. Construction only: ORS 652.197 (2025 c.287 §2, SB 426) covers owners and direct contractors on private construction projects. It does not apply to the owner’s principal residence or to property of five or fewer residential or commercial units on a single tract. ORS 652.198 (§3) sets subcontractor recordkeeping. Owner and direct contractor are jointly and severally liable for unpaid wages, fringe contributions and penalties owed to unrepresented employees of a subcontractor at any tier. They cannot avoid liability by calling a worker a contractor unless the worker meets ORS 670.600, and a rebuttable presumption of employee status applies. Claimants must first send certified notice giving 21 calendar days to correct. On request, subcontractors must give records that note whether each worker is classified as an employee or independent contractor. Oregon also runs an Interagency Compliance Network on misclassification (ORS 670.700), which sets no penalty itself. No classification poster found. ORS 652.197(5)(b) (2025 c.287 §2)

Coming changes:

• From January 1, 2027. Starting January 1, 2027, an Oregon construction contractor that knowingly hires an unlicensed construction labor contractor commits a crime. HB 4089 (2026), amending ORS 658.991(7), 701.990, 670.700, 164.125

• Wage-law test. Pennsylvania’s wage laws name no contractor test. The Minimum Wage Act uses the FLSA’s “suffer or permit to work” wording, so the federal economic-realities factors are the working guide. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Construction: the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (Act 72 of 2010) sets an eight-part test for workers’ compensation and unemployment purposes. 43 P.S. 333.103(f) (Minimum Wage Act of 1968, Act 5, Sec. 3(f))
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a paid worker is an employee unless the business shows both that the worker is free from its control or direction and that the worker customarily runs an independently established business. Special rules: Construction: Act 72 adds written-contract, tools, profit-or-loss, own-business, separate-location, prior-contractor and $50,000 liability-insurance criteria. UC Law Sec. 4(l)(2)(B), 43 P.S. 753(l)(2)(B); L&I, Employee or Independent Contractor
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Pennsylvania takes part in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. Payors with the nonresident-withholding duty must file Form 1099-MISC/NEC with the Department of Revenue through myPATH by January 31, with the REV-1667 annual statement. The Revenue page states no 1099 filing duty for resident payees and does not mention the federal $2,000 threshold. Nonresident withholding: 3.07% on Pennsylvania-source non-wage income; required at $5,000 or more a year per payee, optional below. 72 P.S. 7302 and 7316.3 (Act 43 of 2017); PA DOR Nonresident Withholding page
• Misclassification law. Construction industry only: the Construction Workplace Misclassification Act (Act 72 of 2010), in force since 2011-02-10. An individual in construction is a contractor only if all Sec. 3(a) criteria are met (written contract; free from control both by contract and in fact; independently established business, shown by owning tools, profit or loss, own business, separate location, prior contractor work or holding out, and $50,000 liability insurance). Good-faith belief is a defense (Sec. 4(f)). Criminal (Sec. 5): intentional misclassification is a third-degree misdemeanor for a first offense and a second-degree misdemeanor after that; negligent misclassification is a summary offense with a fine up to $1,000. Administrative (Sec. 6): up to $1,000 for the first violation and up to $2,500 for each later one. Stop-work order by court petition for intentional violations, with $1,000 a day for working in violation (Sec. 7). Requiring a worker to sign a misclassifying agreement: $1,000 to $2,500 per violation (Sec. 9). Retaliation is unlawful, with a 90-day presumption (Sec. 10). A person who knowingly contracts with an employer that intends to misclassify faces the same penalties. Sec. 11 directs the department to create a job-site poster and post it online; the poster is LLC-71. The Act does not expressly order employers to display it. Act 72 of 2010, Sec. 6(a) (43 P.S. 933.6)
• Philadelphia. Hiring entities of domestic workers (nannies, house cleaners, caregivers), including workers engaged as independent contractors, must give a written contract in English and the worker’s preferred language. Applies to household hiring, not general business freelancers. Model contract Phila. Code ch. 9-4500 (Domestic Worker Bill of Rights); OWP Domestic Worker Regulations

• Wage-law test. Rhode Island’s labor department decides misclassification under the wage laws using the federal FLSA factors, which is the economic-realities test. R.I. Gen. Laws 28-14-19.1(b)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment, temporary disability and related payroll-tax chapters, Rhode Island decides contractor or employee status with the factors the IRS uses. R.I. Gen. Laws 28-42-7
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Yes. From tax year 2025, every Form 1099, including the 1099-NEC, reporting more than $100 must be filed directly with the Division of Taxation, whether or not Rhode Island tax was withheld. Files go through the RI Tax Portal in IRS FIRE or IRIS format. The Division says it does not take part in the IRS Combined Federal/State program. 1220 lists Rhode Island; file directly. The threshold differs from the federal one by design. R.I. Gen. Laws 44-30-58(c); Division of Taxation ADV 2026-05 (2026-02-19)
• Misclassification law. All employers under the Rhode Island wage-payment chapter (Title 28, ch. 14): misclassifying a worker as a contractor who should be paid as an employee is a violation. Civil (all employers under ch. 14): $1,500 to $3,000 per misclassified employee for a first offense and up to $5,000 per employee for later offenses, shared equally between the department and the worker (28-14-19.1(g)). After an order to show cause and no timely answer, the director may seek a stop-work order or assess penalties. A party that knowingly contracts with an employer intending to misclassify faces the same penalties. Criminal penalties apply to the construction industry only (28-14-19.1(i)): a knowing and willful violation where the value does not exceed $1,500 is a misdemeanor (up to one year, a fine up to $1,000, or both); a repeat violation over $1,500 is a felony (up to three years, a fine up to $5,000, or both). Amended by P.L. 2023 ch. 244 and 245, effective 2024-01-01. No classification poster or notice duty found in the section. R.I. Gen. Laws 28-14-19.1(a), (g)

• Wage-law test. South Carolina’s Payment of Wages Act does not define employee or contractor; South Carolina courts decide status by the hiring business’s right to control the work, weighing four factors: control, who furnishes equipment, method of payment, and the right to fire. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Workers’ compensation uses the same four-factor test (the cited case is a workers’ compensation case); Unemployment insurance exempts owner-operator truck drivers under a valid independent contractor contract with a motor carrier (S.C. Code 41-27-260(19)). Lewis v. L.B. Dynasty, S.C. Supreme Court Op. No. 27509 (2015), citing Shatto v. McLeod Reg'l Med. Ctr., 406 S.C. 470 (2013)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, a worker is in employment if the usual common-law rules make the worker an employee; some drivers and salesmen are covered by statute, and some groups (owner-operator truckers, qualifying direct sellers) are exempt. Special rules: Owner-operator drivers under a valid independent contractor contract with a motor carrier are exempt (41-27-260(19)); Direct sellers are exempt when the written contract says they will not be treated as employees for federal and state tax purposes (41-27-260(18)); Agent-drivers, commission-drivers and full-time traveling or city salesmen are covered under 41-27-230(1)(c) when its conditions are met. S.C. Code Ann. 41-27-230(1)(b)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. South Carolina joins the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing program. A Form 1099 goes to SCDOR directly only if it shows South Carolina withholding; due January 31. A person contracting with a nonresident for temporary business or personal services in South Carolina must withhold 2% of each payment when the South Carolina portion of the contract exceeds, or could reasonably be expected to exceed, $10,000, unless the nonresident is registered with the Secretary of State or SCDOR (S.C. Code 12-8-550). S.C. Code Ann. 43-5-598(C); SCDOR Withholding FAQs; S.C. Code Ann. 12-8-550(A); IRS Pub. 1220 Table 1
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. South Dakota’s wage payment and minimum wage laws do not define an independent contractor; the minimum wage law simply does not apply to true contractors, and the state labor department points businesses to its two-part control-and-independent-business test. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: Delivery platforms: a delivery facilitation contractor is an independent contractor of a delivery facilitation platform if they agree in writing, the platform sets no required hours, allows work for other platforms, and does not end the contract for refused requests (SDCL 60-1-7; Truck owner-operators are independent contractors for workers’ compensation once they hold a DLR certification of independent contractor status (SDCL 62-1-10); For workers’ compensation, a contractor with no employees and no coverage may sign an affidavit of exempt status, which creates a rebuttable presumption that the contractor is not an employee (SDCL 62-1-19). SD DLR, Minimum Wage FAQ
• Unemployment test. Work for wages is covered by Reemployment Assistance unless the business shows the Department of Labor and Regulation that the worker is free from control both by contract and in fact, and customarily runs an independently established business. Special rules: The statute also covers anyone who is an employee under the usual common-law rules, and corporate officers (SDCL 61-1-10); DLR will issue a written determination on request (DLR newsletter, May 2025). SDCL 61-1-11
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. South Dakota has no personal income tax, does not appear in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing table, and no state 1099 filing or contractor withholding requirement was found. SDCL 25-7A-3.3; IRS Pub. 1220 Table 1
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Since January 1, 2020, Tennessee’s wage and hour laws cover a worker only if the relationship is employment under the IRS’s 20-factor test, which turns mainly on how much the business controls the work. Special rules: Marketplace platforms (app-based gig platforms): a marketplace contractor is an independent contractor for all state and local law purposes when a written agreement sets out ten listed conditions (Tenn. Code 50-8-102); does not apply to services described in 26 U.S.C. 3306(c)(7) or (c)(8); Workers’ compensation keeps its own factors in Tenn. Voluntary Portable Benefit Act (Tenn. Code 50-1-1101 et seq.; 2025 Pub. Ch. 131, effective April 3, 2025): a hiring party may contribute to a contractor’s portable benefit account; the act defines employee and independent contractor by the 50-2-111 twenty-factor test. Tenn. Code Ann. 50-2-111 (as amended by 2019 Pub. Ch. 337, HB 539); TDLWD, Employee or Independent Contractor?
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, Tennessee uses the same IRS 20-factor test for work done since January 1, 2020; work done before that date is judged under the older ABC test. Special rules: Marketplace contractors meeting Tenn. Code 50-8-102 are independent contractors for all state law purposes. Tenn. Code Ann. 50-7-207(e) (as amended by 2019 Pub. Ch. 337); TDLWD, Employee or Independent Contractor?
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Tennessee has no personal income tax on wages or service income, is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing table, and no state 1099 filing or contractor withholding was found. TDLWD, New Hire Reporting (Tenn. Code Ann. 36-5-1102); IRS Pub. 1220 Table 1
• Misclassification law. Construction services providers, under the workers’ compensation law (Employee Misclassification Education and Enforcement Fund program). Civil penalty equal to the greater of $1,000 or 1.5 times the avoided workers’ compensation premium (official TDLWD brochure formula; the statute is reported as Tenn. Code 50-6-411). The brochure says requiring employees to pay for their own coverage is illegal. No classification poster or notice requirement found. TDLWD Bureau of Workers' Compensation, Employee Misclassification (EMEEF); Tenn. Code Ann. 50-6-411, 50-6-913

• Wage-law test. For Texas Payday Law wage claims, the Texas Workforce Commission treats a worker as an employee if the business has the right to direct or control the work, both the final results and when, where and how it is done, using its 20-factor comparison form. Special rules: Transportation network company drivers are independent contractors ‘for all purposes’ if the company meets the conditions in Tex. Occ. Code 2402.114 ( The TWC marketplace-platform rule (40 TAC 815.134(b)) applies only to unemployment insurance, not to wage law. 40 Tex. Admin. Code 821.5 (TWC Payday Rules, Form C-8)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, paid work is employment unless the business shows TWC that the worker is and will stay free from its control, by contract and in fact; TWC applies its 20-factor guideline, and app-based marketplace contractors who meet nine conditions are excluded. Special rules: Marketplace contractors are not in employment of a marketplace platform when all nine conditions in 40 TAC 815.134(b)(2) are met in contract and in fact; Agent-drivers, commission-drivers and certain salesmen are in employment by statute (Tex. Labor Code 201.042). Tex. Labor Code 201.041
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: None stated in statute or on the OAG page. Within 20 calendar days (the OAG states the deadline for employees from the date wages start; no separate contractor deadline stated). Texas has no personal income tax, is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing table, and no state 1099 filing or contractor withholding was found. Tex. Fam. Code 234.101(1)
• Misclassification law. Only businesses (and their subcontractors) that contract with a Texas governmental entity to provide a service; covers individuals they directly retain for that contract. $200 for each individual not properly classified under Chapter 201, paid to TWC; TWC cannot collect after the third anniversary of the violation. No classification poster or notice requirement found. Tex. Labor Code 214.008

• Wage-law test. Utah’s Payment of Wages Act borrows the federal Fair Labor Standards Act definition of employer, so worker status for Utah wage claims follows the federal economic-realities approach. No state statute or rule names the test; this is the test its wording points to. Special rules: A construction-licensed unincorporated entity (such as an LLC) is presumed to employ each individual who holds an ownership interest in it, unless rebutted by clear and convincing evidence (Utah Code 34-28-2(2)); Service Marketplace Platforms Act: building service contractors (cleaning, furniture delivery or assembly, landscaping, home repair, for charges of $3,000 or less) and daycare providers on a qualifying platform are presumed independent contractors unless clear and convincing evidence shows the parties intended employment (Utah Code 34-53-201, 34-53-202); Workers’ compensation has its own exclusions, e.g., real estate agents and insurance producers under written contractor contracts and owner-operator truck drivers with a coverage waiver (Utah Code 34A-2-104). Utah Code 34-28-2(1)(c)(i)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment tax, paid work is employment unless the business shows the Department of Workforce Services that the worker customarily runs an independently established business of the same kind and is free from control over how the work is done, by contract and in fact. Special rules: DWS weighs listed factors for an independent business: separate place of business, substantial investment in tools and equipment, other clients, profit or loss, advertising, licenses, and business tax filings (DWS Employer Handbook, If a business followed a prior DWS declaratory ruling or formal determination, the department may by rule waive retroactive contributions for that worker, except where the worker filed a benefit claim (35A-4-204(4)). Utah Code 35A-4-204(3)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Utah is not in the IRS Combined Federal/State Filing table. A Form 1099 goes to the Utah State Tax Commission only if Utah tax was withheld on it; such forms are filed electronically by January 31. No general Utah withholding on payments to contractors was found. Utah Code 35A-7-102(5)(a), 35A-7-104(2); Utah State Tax Commission Pub. 14
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. A person you pay for services is presumed to be your employee unless shown to be an independent contractor under the IRS guidelines. Va. Code § 40.1-28.7:7(C)
• Unemployment test. Paid services count as employment for unemployment tax unless the Virginia Employment Commission finds the worker is not an employee under the federal FICA/FUTA standard. Special rules: Real estate salespersons under a broker, and real estate appraisers, paid solely by commission or fee under an executed independent contractor agreement are not employees for UI (§ 60.2-212(D)). Va. Code § 60.2-212(C)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: No dollar threshold; triggered by a contract with a new independent contractor (first contract, or a payment after 60 or more consecutive days with no payments). Within 20 days of the start of the contract. Forms 1099 are filed with Virginia Tax only when they show Virginia income tax withheld; they go in electronically with Form VA-6, due January 31. Virginia sets no separate 1099 threshold. No general state withholding on payments to contractors was found. Va. Code § 63.2-1946
• Misclassification law. All employers. Department of Taxation civil penalty, after notice, of up to $1,000 per misclassified individual (first offense), $2,500 (second) and $5,000 (third or later) when the employer also fails to pay required taxes or contributions (§ 58.1-1901); misclassifications by one employer within 72 hours count as one offense (§ 58.1-1900(C)). On a second offense, public bodies may not award the employer contracts for up to one year; on a third or later, up to three years (§ 58.1-1902). A worker may sue for damages within three years if the employer knew of the misclassification (§ 40.1-28.7:7(B)), with the remedies of § 40.1-29(K). Requiring a worker to sign an agreement that misclassifies them is prohibited (§ 58.1-1903). None found. Va. Code § 58.1-1901

• Wage-law test. Under Vermont’s wage payment law a worker is an employee unless the business can show all three ABC conditions: free from control, outside the usual course or places of business, and in an independently established trade. Special rules: The ABC test governs the wage payment subchapter (21 V.S.A. § 341). The minimum wage subchapter (21 V.S.A. § 383(2)) defines an employee as any individual ’employed or permitted to work’ and names no ABC test; Workers’ compensation (21 V.S.A. § 601(14)) uses a broad ‘contract of service’ definition; 21 V.S.A. § 341(1)
• Unemployment test. Services for pay count as employment for unemployment insurance unless the Commissioner is satisfied that all three ABC conditions are met. 21 V.S.A. § 1301(6)(B)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. A business that must file a federal Form 1099 for a nonresident who performed services in Vermont must file a copy with the Department of Taxes (32 V.S.A. § 5862d(a)); the statute sets no separate dollar threshold, so it follows the federal filing duty ($2,000 for 2026 payments if the federal threshold applies). Forms W-2 and 1099 go in with the annual reconciliation Form WHT-434, due the last day of January; 10 or more forms must be filed electronically. No general state withholding on payments to contractors was found. 32 V.S.A. § 5862d
• Misclassification law. All employers covered by the unemployment insurance law. Up to $5,000 administrative penalty per improperly classified employee under the UI law; the Commissioner may waive or reduce it for reasonable cause. A violator can be barred from state contracts for up to three years. Separate workers’ compensation penalties: failure to insure brings daily penalties and stop-work orders (21 V.S.A. § 692); a willful false statement to lower a premium can bring up to $20,000 (21 V.S.A. § 708). None found. 21 V.S.A. § 1314a(f)

• Wage-law test. Under the Minimum Wage Act, L&I weighs six factors case by case: control, opportunity for profit or loss, investment, skill, permanence, and whether the work is integral to the business; a label alone does not make someone a contractor. Special rules: Transportation network company drivers: a driver is not an employee if four statutory conditions are met, with minimum pay standards (RCW 49.46.300); L&I Administrative Policy ES.A.1 (rev. 12/19/2024), interpreting RCW 49.46.010
• Unemployment test. Paid services are employment for unemployment tax unless the business shows either the three-part test (free from control; outside the usual course or places of business; independently established business) or the six-part alternative (adds IRS business schedule, a Department of Revenue account and UBI, and separate books). RCW 50.04.140
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Washington has no personal income tax: no state Form 1099 filing and no state withholding on contractor payments. RCW 26.23.040(3)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.
• Seattle. Covers work worth Self-employed contractors with no employees, working in Seattle for a commercial hiring entity, expecting at least $600 in a calendar year. Independent Contractor Protections Ordinance, SMC 14.34, effective 2022-09-01. OLS provides a Notice of Rights poster, a model pre-work notice and a model itemized payment notice. Contractors may complain to OLS or sue. Payment: On the date in the contract or notice; if unspecified, within 30 days after the services are completed. Model contract SMC 14.34

• Wage-law test. For minimum wage, overtime and wage payment, DWD’s Bureau of Labor Standards asks whether the worker is economically dependent on the business, weighing six factors with control weighed most heavily. Special rules: Worker’s compensation uses a separate statutory nine-part test; all nine must be met (Wis. Stat. § 102.07(8)(b)); Unemployment insurance has its own statutory test (see test_ui). DWD, Worker Classification Test under Labor Standards Law
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance, a worker is a contractor only if, by contract and in fact, they are free from the business’s control and meet at least six of nine listed business conditions (advertising, own office and tools, multiple contracts, own expenses, redo at own cost, profit or loss, and others). Special rules: Services for a government unit or nonprofit, and by loggers and truckers: a two-part test of freedom from control and an independently established trade (Wis. Stat. § 108.02(12)(c)). Wis. Stat. § 108.02(12)(bm)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Payers doing business in Wisconsin file Forms 1099 with the Department of Revenue for nonwage payments of $600 or more to Wisconsin residents, or to nonresidents for services performed in Wisconsin, and for any payment with Wisconsin tax withheld. Wisconsin’s $600 threshold comes from its own rule (Tax 2.04), and the DOR page (laws as of 2026-02-20) still states $600; it does not say Wisconsin follows the federal $2,000 threshold for 2026 payments. For tax year 2025 the due date was February 2, 2026. Returns can be keyed or uploaded in My Tax Account. Wisconsin DOR, Forms W-2 and 1099 Filing FAQ
• Misclassification law. Construction employers described in Wis. Stat. § 108.18(2)(c) and employers in painting or drywall finishing. Unemployment: $500 per employee when the employer knowingly and intentionally gives false information to misclassify, up to $7,500 per incident; $1,000 per individual coerced into nonemployee status, up to $10,000 per calendar year (§ 108.221). Labor standards: DWD may require proof of compliance and issue stop-work orders, with $250 per day for not stopping work and $1,000 per day for violating a final order (§ 103.06). No classification poster found; DWD must give 3 business days’ notice before a stop-work order. Wis. Stat. § 108.221(1)(a)

• Wage-law test. A worker is a contractor for wage payment purposes if a signed written contract meets the statute, the worker files business or self-employment returns (or works through a business entity or DBA), controls how the work is done, and meets at least three of nine listed factors; anyone else is classified under the IRS 20-factor ruling. Special rules: A direct seller under 26 U.S.C. § 3508(b)(2) qualifies as an independent contractor (alternative route in § 21-5I-4(a)); The same test governs workers’ compensation, unemployment compensation and the Human Rights Act (§ 21-5I-5); it does not reach the minimum wage act, whose § 21-5C-1(d) defines ’employ’ as ‘to hire or permit to work’; The minimum wage act covers only employers with six or more employees at one location (§ 21-5C-1(e)). W. Va. Code § 21-5I-4
• Unemployment test. Unemployment coverage applies to paid services unless the commissioner is satisfied the worker is an independent contractor under § 21-5I-4. W. Va. Code § 21A-1A-16
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are reported: $2,500 or more in a year (paid, or provided for in the contract). Within 14 days of the earlier of the first payment that brings the year’s total to $2,500 or the contract providing for $2,500 or more. Forms 1099 go to the State Tax Department only when they show West Virginia withholding; the WV/IT-103 reconciliation and 1099 data are due January 31. West Virginia sets no separate 1099 threshold. No general state withholding on contractor payments was found. W. Va. Code § 48-18-125(b)(3)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.

• Wage-law test. Wyoming’s unpaid-wage collection law treats a worker as an employee when the usual common-law rules make them one, so the hiring business’s control over the work is the key question. Special rules: Wyoming’s minimum wage act (W.S. 27-4-201) defines ’employ’ as ‘to suffer or to permit to work’, the FLSA-style wording; in practice the federal FLSA test governs most minimum-wage questions; Owner-operators of motor vehicles leased with driver to a for-hire carrier are excluded under the UI and workers’ compensation acts when the contract says they are not employees for FICA, FUTA and income tax withholding (W.S. 27-3-108(a)(x); 27-14-102(a)(vii)(O)). Wyo. Stat. 27-4-501(a)(ii)
• Unemployment test. For unemployment insurance a paid worker is an employee unless the business shows the worker is free from control by contract and in fact, offers services to the public as self-employed, and may send a substitute; the same test applies for workers’ compensation. Special rules: Workers’ compensation uses the same three-part definition of ‘independent contractor’ (W.S. 27-14-102(a)(xxiii)) and excludes independent contractors from ’employee’ (27-14-102(a)(vii)(D)); Owner-operators of leased motor vehicles with a contract disclaiming employee status for FICA, FUTA and withholding are excluded (W.S. 27-3-108(a)(x)); Casual labor and newspaper carriers or direct sellers under the conditions in W.S. 27-3-108(a) are excluded. Wyo. Stat. 27-3-104(b)
• Reporting and 1099s. Contractors are not reported as new hires. Wyoming has no individual income tax, so it has no state Form 1099 filing and no state withholding on payments to contractors. Wyo. Stat. 27-1-115(b)
• Misclassification law. No separate statute; the general wage and tax laws apply.