Chapter 11

1. Part-Time or Freelance? Youve decided the next step in your career requires additional education and you want to pursue a masters degree. Youve done your research and found that while you can afford to return to school, if you try to complete the degree while working full-time, it will take you several years to finish it. Youd like to complete the degree program more quickly, so next month you plan to quit your full-time job so that you can enter graduate school. Youve estimated costs and expenses, and if you work part-time hours, you will be able to manage. You have strong writing skills and have decided to pursue part-time work as a technical writer. As you started talking to friends about your plans, you learned there are many companies that will hire you as a freelancer to complete writing projects such as product use manuals. However, you have also been offered a job working part-time at a company that is near the campus where you will be going to school. You are excited that you have more than one option for part-time work, but now you need to decide. At first you thought freelance work was the way to go. You like the freedom of working when you want from your apartment. However, the company that offered you the part-time job has offered you flexibility in your hours and said you can also work from home anytime you want. As you begin to consider which option is better, you look over a detailed letter that the company sent you about the part-time position. You will be expected to work around 20 hours per week, but occasionally there may be special projects where you need to work more hours. The letter notes that if you work more than 40 hours in a week, you are eligible for overtime pay. The company also does offer some employee benefits programs that you are eligible to participate in. In addition to any benefits required by law such as workers compensation insurance, there are other benefits including a pro-rated amount of paid time off and eligibility to participate in the company wellness program. While you are not eligible to participate in the companys health-care insurance program, the letter notes that if you later increase your hours to more than 30 per week, you will become eligible. Finally, after six months you can participate in the companys 401(k) retirement savings plan. page 309 These extra benefits sound great, however, you are concerned about committing to the company. You arent sure how heavy of workload your masters degree program will present to you and you like the flexibility the freelance work could provide you. You know your savings can hold you over if you need to take off some time from working at any point. At the same time, you know that there is no guarantee that the freelance work will be available when you need it. You have made a lot of important decisions over the last month as you get ready to quit your job to return to school. You knew you would need to work some, and while you are glad you have options, the decision on part-time or freelance work is a more complicated decision than you thought.

What are the pros and cons of pursuing the part-time job? What are the pros and cons of pursuing the freelance work?

2. Independent Contractors at Senior Connect As the Director of Operations for Senior Connect, Megan Morales is excited as the company expands to a tenth city with a concierge service targeted at retirees and other senior citizens. The service connects clients with contract workers, called Runners, who help run errands such as picking up prescription medication or groceries. Senior Connect targets the senior citizen market because most other concierge services are only delivered via smartphone apps. Senior Connect does have a smartphone app, but services can also be obtained by making a telephone call, making it an attractive option for older community members. Currently in addition to the Runners, Senior Connect employs full-time employees at a small call center to take the telephone calls and a corporate staff that includes professionals such as operations management, marketing, and finance. The Runners are classified as independent contractors. They are not considered employees, which is important because they are not eligible to participate in the generous employee benefits program the company offers. With nearly 100 Runners, many working nearly full-time hours, Megan knows that the company benefits costs would increase significantly if the Runners were employees. After attending a recent seminar about the growing use of gig workers, Megan is concerned that maybe the Runners should be considered employees instead of independent contractors. The speaker at the seminar shared a story about another company that was involved in a costly lawsuit because they had incorrectly classified employees as independent contractors. Megan has decided she needs to review the terms and conditions of the arrangement with the Runners to make sure they are properly classified. Based on what she learned at the seminar, Megan begins making notes about the Runners to determine if they are classified properly. Unlike other smartphone app services that allow workers to log in and pick up errands when the worker is interested in working, the Runners at Senior Connect have assigned shifts based on client needs. The company found the older clients prefer to have the same worker run their errands. The clients value developing relationships with the Runners, which is why they pick Senior Connect over other options. In fact, the Runners regularly get feedback from supervisors who make sure that the clients are satisfied with the services. Even though Megan considers them gig workers, most Runners work nearly full-time for Senior Connect. To make the scheduling of shifts fair for the Runners, Megan makes sure each shift is at least four hours, and the Runners are paid by the hour to make sure they receive compensation for any time they are on call. The company asks them to make Senior Connect a priority, knowing that the clients prefer the stability of working with the same Runner. As a result, very few Runners have other gigs, making the Runners dependent on Senior Connect as their primary source of income. Finally, the Runners use their own cars, but Senior Connect does offer reimbursement of expenses such as gasoline.

As Megan looks back over her notes, she realizes that there are a lot of factors she needs to consider to determine if the Runners should continue to be classified as independent contractors. With expansion into a new city, she knows they need to decide before they begin to recruit new Runners. She decides to call a meeting of Senior Connects leadership team to get some input on this important determination.

Why did Senior Connect want to classify Runners as independent contractors? Do you think Senior Connect Runners should be classified as independent contractors or employees? Why?