Legal Question in Employment Law in California

Hello. I do freelance tutoring and writing for individual customers who ask their questions through a 3rd party website. I work on the honor system, meaning customers fairly often do not pay me. When I am paid, the 3rd party takes 50% of the fee. The 3rd party who owns the site says I have no rights or privileges while answering questions on the site. They say I am not an employee, nor an independent contractor, which I understand, though I don't completely agree, due to some of the restrictions. For instance, though they say I am only a "user" of the site, they prohibit me from answering any other questions anywhere else online in the same month that I work for them. Is that legal? They operate out of CA, I live in WA.

They also have specific restrictions on how I can reply to customer questions, which questions I'm allowed to answer, and don't allow me to control my work after I post it. They also don't provide 1099s.


Asked on 10/07/10, 5:16 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Terry A. Nelson Nelson & Lawless

If they pay you and handle the money, you are either an employee or an independent contractor. Which is it? If the customer pays you directly, that would be different. Since the company is in CA, you could file a lawsuit as an independent contractor for whatever money is due you under your contract. If an employee, you could file a lawsuit for the unpaid wages/commissions due you, plus penalties, interest and attorney fees. If serious about pursuing this, feel free to contact me.

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Answered on 10/13/10, 10:26 am


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