How can my brother get unemployment insurance?

Question

My brother in North Carolina has been working for several months for a man's painting company, but today he laid him off. The man told my brother he could not collect unemployment because he's not an employee, but an independent contractor. To me, he sounds like he was an employee. He worked for a per-hour wage, he had set hours to work, a set lunch-time, and so on. What can my brother do?

Answer 1

If you brother was an independent contractor he should've been taking money out of his own paycheck for taxes.  How was your brother paid.  There really isn't anything your brother can do.

Answer 2

He can file a complaint with the state department of employment security.  Control by employer is one determinant as to whether he's an independent contractor or employee.

Answer 3

Yep, a lot of contractors do that.  Your brother needs to go down to his unemployement office, and file for unemployement benefits.  Can he collect?  Usually you need to be working longer than 2-3 months in order to be eligible.  But he can DEFINATELY apply.   His prior employment would count, towards the working period.

This employer will probably contest, and he will have to appeal, but I think he'd be eligible, if he was working longer.  I agree, he's not a subcontractor, according to the IRS definition - he's an employee.

Answer 4

All he can do is look for another job. Many small contractors pay employees as contractors, this prevents them from needing expensive workers comp insurance and payroll taxes.

If his boss had paid him as an employee your bother would probalby not have wnated to work for the lower wages.