At Home Independent Contractors - Call Center

[callercenter]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Florida

We utilize independent contractors to handle phone calls on behalf of our customers. We pay an hourly for their time to make and receive calls (including the time in-between calls).

We provide access to our automated dialer software through an internet site they access from home they delivers the phone calls (both inbound and outbound). It cost's us $125 per agent concurrently loged into the system.

My question is whether I can charge the IC the fee we are charged for access to the dialer software?

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Are these IC's under some type of written contract you can add the fee to?

 

[callercenter]

Are these IC's under some type of written contract you can add the fee to?

Yes, they do sign an agreement. I was worried that charging a fee like this would be blatantly illegal, even if thay agree to it in the contract.

 

[Just Blue]

Yes, they do sign an agreement. I was worried that charging a fee like this would be blatantly illegal, even if thay agree to it in the contract.

You should ask your Business Attorney. You DO have one ...Yes?

 

[callercenter]

You should ask your Business Attorney. You DO have one ...Yes?

Not to sound rude, but if I did or could afford it, I wouldn't be asking this question on a legal advice message board.

 

[OHRoadwarrior]

Not to sound rude, but if I did or could afford it, I wouldn't be asking this question on a legal advice message board.

As long as they are properly classified, I don't see a reason you cannot pass on the fee.

 

[Just Blue]

Not to sound rude, but if I did or could afford it, I wouldn't be asking this question on a legal advice message board.

No you don't sound a bit rude. But, if you can't afford an attorney to assist you ...Well you might have an issue with the "contracts".

There are many state sites for conttract law to help you.

 

[justalayman]

We provide access to our automated dialer software through an internet site they access from home they delivers the phone calls (both inbound and outbound). It cost's us $125 per agent concurrently loged into the system.

do you mean to say it costs you $125 ever time one of the workers logs into the system or does that $125 cover some specified period of time or ????


I do not think it is illegal but if they have an existing contract without that fee, you cannot just toss it into that contract. If the contract is for a fixed period of time you would have to wait for it to expire. If it is just a running contract, you could change it as long as you follow any terms in the existing contract.


I sure hope your callers make a ton of money as charging them this $125 sure sounds like it could really hurt their income/

 

[LdiJ]

do you mean to say it costs you $125 ever time one of the workers logs into the system or does that $125 cover some specified period of time or ????


I do not think it is illegal but if they have an existing contract without that fee, you cannot just toss it into that contract. If the contract is for a fixed period of time you would have to wait for it to expire. If it is just a running contract, you could change it as long as you follow any terms in the existing contract.


I sure hope your callers make a ton of money as charging them this $125 sure sounds like it could really hurt their income/

I also have some concern as to whether or not they are legally classified as independent contractors. If they legally should be classified as employees rather than contractors, then charging them the $125.00 WOULD be blatantly illegal. Charging them that fee might just motivate one of them to file the paperwork with the IRS to have their classification as contractors investigated. It only takes one person filing an SS-8 to get the whole company investigated.

It actually happened to a client of mine. I had been telling them for years that I thought that they were skating on thin ice. Then they did something kind of similar to this and one of their contractor/employees decided they had had enough and filed the SS-8. The cost of cleaning the whole thing up nearly put my clients out of business.

 

[callercenter]

do you mean to say it costs you $125 ever time one of the workers logs into the system or does that $125 cover some specified period of time or ????


I do not think it is illegal but if they have an existing contract without that fee, you cannot just toss it into that contract. If the contract is for a fixed period of time you would have to wait for it to expire. If it is just a running contract, you could change it as long as you follow any terms in the existing contract.


I sure hope your callers make a ton of money as charging them this $125 sure sounds like it could really hurt their income/

This is a monthly charge for each agent seat that I purchase ( a concurrent license). Obviously I wouldn't just add it to a contract with existing agents. I wasn't sure I could charge IC's a fee like this.

 

[LdiJ]

This is a monthly charge for each agent seat that I purchase ( a concurrent license). Obviously I wouldn't just add it to a contract with existing agents. I wasn't sure I could charge IC's a fee like this.

Please see my post above.

 

[FlyingRon]

This is the way the phone sex operations typically function.
Call center...ha!

 

[callercenter]

I also have some concern as to whether or not they are legally classified as independent contractors. If they legally should be classified as employees rather than contractors, then charging them the $125.00 WOULD be blatantly illegal. Charging them that fee might just motivate one of them to file the paperwork with the IRS to have their classification as contractors investigated. It only takes one person filing an SS-8 to get the whole company investigated.

It actually happened to a client of mine. I had been telling them for years that I thought that they were skating on thin ice. Then they did something kind of similar to this and one of their contractor/employees decided they had had enough and filed the SS-8. The cost of cleaning the whole thing up nearly put my clients out of business.

I investigated this as well, and generally the law states you can't tell an IC how they complete the job. Our IC agents set their own schedule and do not have to adhere to a specific script (although one is provided, contractually they don't have to follow it). We don't tell them when to take breaks or when to log off. We provide the software because logistically, it's the only way to get a single list dialed properly.

 

[LdiJ]

I investigated this as well, and generally the law states you can't tell an IC how they complete the job. Our IC agents set their own schedule and do not have to adhere to a specific script (although one is provided, contractually they don't have to follow it). We don't tell them when to take breaks or when to log off. We provide the software because logistically, it's the only way to get a single list dialed properly.

Its not that simple. Setting their own hours IS an element, but not the only element. Many IC's cannot set their own hours because the parameters of the work to be done don't allow for that.

Personally, I think that you are skating on thin ice here, and that it would be foolish to do anything that might motivate one of your IC's into filing an SS-8.

 

[justalayman]

I investigated this as well, and generally the law states you can't tell an IC how they complete the job. Our IC agents set their own schedule and do not have to adhere to a specific script (although one is provided, contractually they don't have to follow it). We don't tell them when to take breaks or when to log off. We provide the software because logistically, it's the only way to get a single list dialed properly.

If you are so sure of the workers being properly classified, ask one of them to file an SS-8. That way you will have an honest determination and you can either move forward using IC's or figure out how much it's going to cost to correct your mistake.


nothing you list is a defining activity. As LdiJ stated, there is no one defining activity. It is the entire job taken in whole and reviewed that is used to make the determination.