Hey everyone, hope this is the right place to post about this.
In short: I work for a music school/ company that hires all teachers as private contractors. We do private lessons at their location, as well as outreach classes at public schools. I believe they are breaking the law by mis classifying us as private contractors and my coworkers and I are preparing to do something about it.
Details: A group of us have realized that we are being misclassified and are writing a letter to the management stating that we demand a change in classification. This will be hand delivered at some point in the next month or two with the hope that they will comply and make us w-2 employees.
As you know, being private contractors means we have to pay more taxes, are unable to get workers comp, no paid sick leave (even if you work the required hours our state has set), can be fired whenever for no reason, etc….
We believe we’re misclassified because they have a curriculum they set for some classes, and a type of teaching style they want us to use. Sometimes management will sit in on lessons and even interrupt and take over, or suggest changes. They tell us where to be and when, and have a (loosely enforced) dress code. Also, the pay rates are drastically different between employees and they have specific guidelines that are meant to explain how and why one may get a raise, but their rates are more or less arbitrary.
Oddly enough, certain employees (front desk workers, “coordinators” and a few others in more of a “managements position”) are w-2 workers. I know of one that is even considered both private contractor (for lessons) and w2 worker for coordinator hours.
We are currently reaching out to as many co-workers as we can to get a feel on who is down for the cause and getting ready to collect signatures to show management how many of us demand a change. We enjoy working with the kids and students we teach, so we don’t want to go straight to reporting the company to the IRS and potentially shutting the business down without a negotiation period.
Basically, I’m asking for advice, insight, past experiences, and your overall thoughts on this situation.