I work for a construction company as an estimator. I have worked at this company for 7 years, 2 of them as bookkeeper and the rest as estimator. I was on W2 status (an employee) up until August 2021, with some extra given in cash. I figured out pretty quickly that the cash didnt count as income since it wasn't shown on my W2 or pay stubs. I asked that he increase my gross pay to cover the extra, and the boss decided the taxes were too high and moved me to 1099 status. I didnt have too much of a problem with it at first because subcontractors get more freedom with their schedule and taking time off when they need to. But that is not the case. Even if I get my work done at 2PM, I am expected to be in this chair at my office from 8AM-4PM monday through friday. No flexibility at all in my schedule, which is not what I agreed to. He agreed to one vacation without much issue, but when I tried to schedule a second one (different calendar year) he freaked (despite me having enough PTO to cover it) and said I could only take a few days, not a whole week. I am not supposed to have these limitations being self employed. If he wants to treat me like an employee, he needs to cover his part of my taxes.
So he'll be at the office tomorrow. I want to sit down with him and tell him that since he does not give me the freedom that is supposed to come with my self employed status, he needs to put me back on the payroll and start covering his part of my taxes. But I don't want to get fired, as much as i hate my job I do actually need it to survive. He's very abusive and unreasonable, so its impossible to tell what will piss him off. Any advice on how to approach this tactfully and politely while still being firm about it?