To show you guys I wish you luck, Im gonna give you a heads up. PLEASE dont use the "other employers in my industry do it". It wont fly. When they look at your industry they look at the entire electrical contracting industry. Many of the law abiding contractors hate guys who misclassify workers because it gives them an unfair business advantage. They feel penalized for following the rules. Many of them would NEVER take the rates some contractors agree to take from MSOs and primes. They wouldnt take it because they feel they couldnt run their business by the rules if they did. So be prepared to make another case. The main thing you companies have against you, is there is not enough difference between a cable employee and a cable sub-contractor. Except the pay scale used. You need to be able to show that contractors have control over themselves. If you are requiring them to come in everyday by a certain time, give them pre-scheduled jobs (AM/PM), and they dont have the final responsibilty of the job( example, if they cant get to a job do they call their own dispatcher to get it recheduled or do they call your dispatcher), they will be considered employees after the appeal. Your toughest opponents are your own fellow contractors. They dont like that you guys get away with this, when they pay their taxes, pay their workers top wages AND STILL follow the rules. I guess they feel it takes no skill to be the cheapest, then to be the cheapest and still be in violation of tax and labor laws is a double insult to these guys. These guys view you in the same way you view illegals. They sound pretty anal, if you ask me. But the law seems to be on there side. So be prepared, be becareful, and good luck.
