Contract Labor

MOMANUFACTURER

I know that this has been touched on to many times to count but once more refresh me. I have a contract labor person that is coming in and working in our tool room. We currently have other ee in that department. I'm assuming that he will come and go as he pleases. My plant manager and I just got into a discussion on this. I say that the contract labor person should submit on a weekly basis what he expects to be paid. The PM says that I should fill out a check request and cut the check. Someone please tell me who is right in this situation.
Thanks!!!

Pork

MOMANUFACTURER: Without knowing more about your situation; as an Wage and Hour Auditor, I want to interview this person. I want him to show me his business credential that represents a vocation for the work accomplished by this person on your behalf. It will be especially interesting when I interview the other ee in this department and find out he/she is doing the very same work task but is on the company payroll. I will want to see all of the past records of payment to this employee as well as any records of past contract labor personnel provided work for your company. I want to see the tax records benefit records and on and on. We are not allowed to use contract labor for work done on a continuous basis. A one time clean-up job in a tool room, a one time sharpener of all of the tool room tools, a one time inventory each year or maybe twice a year might get you by but anything else the person should be on your payroll and paying taxes to appropriate authority during the year and not at the end of the year with a 1099. The person should be a part time employee and recording the hours worked and be making whatever the PM wants him to make for X hours of work. WE HAVE A SPECIAL POWER WASHING PROJECT ON GOING RIGHT NOW AND IT IS CONTRACT LABOR. ONCE A WORK SITE IS WASHED AND THEY ARE AUTHORIZED TO LEAVE THE PROJECT IS COMPLETE. IT IS TAKING ABOUT 5 DAYS A WEEK AND 50 HOURS PER WEEK. NEXT WEEK A WORK SITE MAY NOT BE READY FOR THE WASHING BECAUSE THE PREP WORK HAS NOT BEEN COMPLETED AT A NEW WORK SITE, SO THE TEAM OF TWO WILL NOT WORK UNTIL IT IS READY. THE TEAM MAY NOT BE READY SO I'LL FIND SOMEONE ELSE TO REPLACE THE TEAM. THEY COME AND GO BASED ON WHEN THE WORK SITE DOORS ARE OPEN AND THEY ARE WORKING FOR THE WORK SITE MANAGER. THE MANAGER'S OTHER EES ARE DOING THEIR EVERYDAY DUTIES, AND POWER WASHING IS THEIR DUTY BUT NOT FOR THE PART OF THE FACILITY BEING WASHED ONLY 2 TIMES A YEAR.

PORK

Don D

You're both right! The contractor must submit to you a weekly invoice of hours worked and agreed upon expenses and you should fill out a check request once the invoice is received and pay the man for what he invoiced.

MOMANUFACTURER

Thanks for both of your advice. The CL will only be with us about 6 weeks (?). I have convinced the PM to get the CL to provide me with hours worked and amount due on an invoice.
When there's a struggle of wills I just like to make sure that I'm standing on ground that won't later sink.

Pork

Just for interest, what was this tool room floater doing as a special employee that the PM wanted to give him x $ollars for showing up weekly or daily?

PORK,
Glad you got it worked out!

MOMANUFACTURER

I'm not sure what he is doing that the PM considers him "special". I'm just glad to know that once again I'm right. Sometimes it's a struggle to be a woman in my company with so many men that think we should still be barefoot and pregnant at home. Oh to live in a rural area.
(Sorry just had to vent for a moment) 8-}

Don D

And by the way MO, you don't have to let him come and go as he wishes. Although an independent contractor test looks at whether the employer sets his specific hours, you can still tell him that you do want him to be in the tool room between the core hours of X & Y. And let him flex within that expectation.