Regulators Say Independent Contractor Label Not a Work Comp Dodge

When businesses ask the West Virginia insurance commissioner’s office for advice on exempting workers from mandatory workers’ compensation coverage, they are directed to the Internal Revenue Service’s definition of an independent contractor. As a result of applying the IRS guidelines, most of the time, the businesses find that the workers they’re thinking of classifying as independent contractors “are not actually independent contractors but employees of a business,” said West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Allan McVey. In the past year, West Virginia...