Legal Question in Employment Law in California

I live in California and a school district I used to work for as a therapist as a district employee for 8 years contacted me about returning to work to cover a maternity leave. I last worked for them 5 years ago. I was contacted two months before the job was to start, and was told everything was set up before I moved the 6 hours for the job. I was told that I could work 6 hours per day, 5 days per week at an hourly pro-rata rate of what I made when I left the district, but that I would not get benefits.

When I appeared to the first day of work, I was told by the department secretary that the position had never been created in the computer and that I could not work. However, my Program Manager who was supposed to have "created the PAR" told my supervisor to have me work anyway, and that we could tack on the hours to different days after the position got approved. I continued to work thinking the process would take a few days. The process in their budget system took 2 weeks. After I had accumulated 66 hours of work, I was told to go to HR to get processed as an employee. I was fingerprinted, filled out HR paperwork, paid $58 for a TB test, and completed a W4. At this time, HR told me that I could not work until the fingerprints came back. So I did not work from that point on.

I was contacted by the program manager after my fingerprints were cleared and told that she learned from HR that it is illegal to pay me pro-rata (which is an hourly rate based on a salary schedule from 2008-2009) unless I am retired or am a current employee. She said there were "legal issues" with me being paid and they needed to work it out. I think that since she allowed me to work without being fingerprinted, they can't pay me as an employee or something, due to the Ed Code. Also, the district usually hires from company vendors for maternity leaves and does not have a process for temporary contracts or something. However, this was always the agreement that I would be an employee. Upon my first day, I was provided with a laptop and an iPad to complete my job, and was processed as an employee by HR.

I am now being asked to complete an ICA retroactively along with a W9, to agree to be an Independent Contractor for the same amount that was to be the "pro-rata" amount we agreed to as an employee. Not only is it an ICA, but given that there is a 10,000 max on the form, I am only offered 2.5 hours of work per day, not the 6 we agreed to. I have documentation of this in emails. Since the district is now asking me to be an Independent Contractor, which I never agreed to before beginning the position, I am asking for my Independent Contractor rate that I bill in my invoices when I contract out services, which is significantly higher than the hourly with the district. The district, though I was not ever presented with an ICA prior to work, is refusing to either pay me my IC rate, or to pay me as an employee. I never desired to become an IC with them. Also, there is a questionnaire on their website that if completed properly, states that I should be classified as an employee, not an independent contractor.

I guess I am feeling that I am at a huge loss. I told them I could not go forward with a 2.5 hour per day job, so I am now unemployed and looking for work. I feel there may be an issue with lost wages, for the time which they told me to stop working, an issue with all of the moving costs, etc. Right now it is 4 weeks since I began working and I worked for over weeks. There is no promise for payment, unless my IC rate is accepted or they pay me on a W4. I would appreciate any advice.

Are they required to have me complete an ICA before the start of work as a contractor? Can they change the status (IC vs Employee) on me like that? Would it really be illegal for me to be on a W4? I am in San Diego. Thank you very much. This is a very large district and I can't believe what is happening.

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