Think your VAs, setters, freelancers, etc. are independent contractors?

Surely, they're not employees, right?

Maybe.

If you get the employee vs. independent contractor analysis wrong, the consequences can be significant—from unpaid payroll taxes to wage claims and other potential liabilities.

This week in CounselLab, I'm walking through a hypothetical involving a Skool community owner who hires freelancers to help scale their business (Post 1, and Post 2 are already published).

We'll cover:

What factors determine whether someone is an employee or an independent contractor (and why the answer often depends on where the worker is located).
How the analysis changes based on the type of work being performed.
The potential exposure if a worker has been misclassified.
Practical ways to structure your business relationships to help reduce the risk.

Here’s the hypothetical Skool community and the setup:

A coach teaching a Skool community to grow their membership hires three people:

A virtual assistant
A video editor
A marketing specialist

Independent contractor or employees?

Sneak Peek: just because someone signs an independent contractor agreement doesn't automatically make them an independent contractor. The legal analysis depends on the facts—not just the contract.

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Think your VAs, setters, freelancers, etc. are independent contractors?