Independent contractor agreement
 

What do you look for in a independent contractor agreement?


New association took over, and they want every official to sign a contract.


Should the contractor pay a management Fee? ($25.00-$50.00)

Should the contract only mention what the minimum pay per game is? ($5.00)

And the last line in the contract reads this, what does this mean?

23. This Agreement and any attachments are the entire exclusive agreement between the Company and the Contractor. Neither party shall assign it without written permission. It insures to the benefit of the successors and assign of the parties. The parties make no express or implied representations, warranties, promises or guarantees about this Agreement, except as it expressly provides. In the Agreement, the masculine includes the feminine and the singular the plural.


Thank you in advance.

Not sure what you mean by an Independent Contractor Agreement, but most of our contracts only deal with the duties of the official that is signing or responsible for their contract. We do not pay anyone for their services with the school or conference. We are paid out fee separate to what assignors are paid. It works that way at all levels I work and nothing else other than Arbiter fees we pay to the assignors. Outside of that if we are paid $57, we are paid $57 and no mention from what others make for their services.

Peace

About 10 years ago all high school sports officials in this state were reclassified as "independent contractors" after an insurance claim occurred following a severe injury to an official during a game. This was done to make it clear that the officials are not employees of the school or state association and get them off the hook for a possible big payout of an insurance claim or lawsuit as well as worker's comp.

There are some things which you should know.
1. The term independent contractor is defined by state law and the particulars differ from state to state. Learn what yours says.
2. You will likely be paying your own insurance premiums. It could be a policy obtained thorugh your officials association or you may need to go obtain your own. If the latter NASO is a good one.
3. You will be allowed to deduct many items when doing your taxes. Basically, costs associated with officiating such as travel, uniform, membership dues, insurance premiums, etc.
4. The schools are NOT your employer if your group goes this route, nor is your association, in fact. You have certain rights which an employee does not pertaining to information which you disclose to those for whom you provide your service. For example, with regard to background checks, drug testing, and your SSN. For tax purposes, you can be legally required to provide your SSN to anyone paying you through the use of a W9 form, but unless you consent to other conditions you do not have to comply to many things like an employee does.
5. You should receive a 1099 for taxes, not a W2, and the payee should not withhold anything for you.
6. Know who can discipline you or fine you. Depending upon the relevant law in your state, your association or the contest administrators may or may not have that right.
7. As an independent contractor, you don't have a right to any assignments, but you also don't have to accept any that are offered.
8. Learn what happens if you are offered and accept an assignment and then one party must cancel. If you cancel do you pay a fee? If the association or the assigning school cancels what do you receive? You reserved your time for them and entered into a binding contract with the offer and acceptance, so what happens when one side wishes to break that contract?
9. Association dues are perfectly legal, but assignment fees, or perhaps what you named management fees, and some other deductions could infringe upon federal and state kickback laws. This is a gray area and should be examined closely. ( Federal Crimes & Consequences: Kickbacks )
10. There is much to this classification, so I will advise you to consult an attorney who has knowledge of your local state law and can give you proper legal advice. Please take the above as merely some highlights which I learned when we reclassified here.
11. Lastly, in layman's terms the paragraph about which you asked is basically saying that this contract cannot be transferred by you to a third party (someone else) to do your work, nor can the association sub-contract you out. It states that it is the entire agreement and that there aren't other provisions to consider if the matter were to go to court. It does note "any attachments" which could be a fee schedule for games worked or administrative/assigning fees, or even a consent form. All of these should be provided to you in writing. The male pronoun covers both male and female parties to the agreement and when applicable more than one party.