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June 28, 2021 Article

How to Avoid Misclassifying Your Employees Under the Maine Workers’ Compensation Act

Mainebiz

What criteria are necessary to classify someone as an independent contractor and how can employers avoid misclassification and the repercussions that come with it? In this article, Preti Flaherty attorney and Mainebiz guest columnist John Cronan provides an in-depth look at what it takes to qualify as an independent contractor under the Maine Workers' Compensation Act and in the eyes of the Maine Department of Labor and the Maine Workers' Compensation Board.

The financial burden of carrying workers’ compensation insurance and unemployment insurance may tempt some individuals and employers to be overly broad in their classification of independent contractors. However,  the law creates a uniform definition of independent contractor for the Workers’ Compensation Act and the Maine Department of Labor (MDOL). This definition is quite limited, and very clearly laid out.

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