Legal Question in Employment Law in New York

1099 Employee Pregnancy Rights

Hi,

My wife is a dentist, working as a 1099 for a private practice. She is pregnant and her due date is January 1, 2005. She has told her employer that she will be taking her maternity leave a week before (12/23) her due date and would like to come back 12-weeks later (approx. later March 2005). Again, she currently receiving no benefits of any kind from her employer.

The employer has accepted her 12-week maternity period and would like her to come back.

However, she suspects that her employer is looking to replace her now and wait until her maternity leave.

As a 1099 employee, does she have any legal rights in the event her employer terminates her position now and not before her maternity leave? As a 1099, are you protected in any way?

Any legal advise you can provide will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you


Asked on 9/22/04, 9:17 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Stephen Loeb Law Office of Stephen R. Loeb

Re: 1099 Employee Pregnancy Rights

If your wife is a bonafide independent contractor she has no rights with respect to employee protection under the FMLA. However if she can show that in reality she is an employee (same hours per week, same rate of pay for week) she can argue that the 1099 is a ruse and she would be entitled to protection, it's difficult to say without more information.

Should you like to discuss this or any other legal matter, you can call my office to schedule an appointment for a consultation or in the alternative, I can be reached for on-phone low-cost legal consultation at 1-800-275-5336 x0233699.

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Answered on 9/22/04, 10:15 am


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