Recommendations for Adjunct Faculty Classification at North Maine University

Recommendations for Adjunct Faculty Classification at North Maine University

There are distinct features that distinguish an independent contractor. If the independent contractors in a particular institution do not match those features, then the organization is liable for penalties for the misclassification of the independent worker (Baron, 1998). The critical features that distinguish an independent contractor include financial, behavioral control, and the type of relationship (Coyne & Langstraat, 2016). In this case, the behavior control manifests when the contractor worker performs his activities autonomously. The University of North Marne has subcontracted faculty workers to perform faculty tasks.

Nevertheless, the institution has been attempting to control the behaviors of these workers by enacting policies. Among the policies enacted is the requirement of these staff to log in a minimum of five days a week. This policy is meant to control the performance of the workers by making them more active. In this case, the workers are no longer independent contractors since the university is controlling their behaviors

Secondly, the university interferes with the independent contractors’ work by instructing them to use Blackboard and not change anything in the system. Therefore, the university determines how they work by dictating the management software they would use and dictating them on how to use it. Again, the institution interferes with the behavior of its workers, making them lose the title of independent workers.

In terms of financial control, faculty workers do not incur any expenses on behalf of the workers. In the case of independent contractors, they incur expenses while undertaking the activities the organization later reimburses them, which is contrary to this case (Moran 2009). The institution’s misclassification could be discovered in the case of one of the faculty workers applying for unemployment benefits or during the DOL (Department of Labor) regular audits. The fines charged to the firm could amount to $1000 per misclassified person, which would result in substantial costs for the firm (Bauer, 2014). Thus, the institution should deem the faculty workers as the organizations’ employees rather than independent workers.

References

Coyne, J. G., & Langstraat, C. J. (2016). Affordable Care Act: Premium Tax Credits and Employer Penalties. Taxes, 94, 27.

Moran, J. A. (2009). Independent contractor or employee-misclassification of workers and its effect on the state. Buff. Pub. Int. LJ, 28, 105.

Barron, M. H. (1998). Who’s an Independent Contractor-Who’s an Employee. Lab. Law., 14, 457.

Bauer, D. (2014). The misclassification of independent contractors: The fifty-four billion dollar problem. Rutgers JL & Pub. Pol’y, 12, 138.

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Recommendations for Adjunct Faculty Classification

DQ1: The case of the absent professors

The University of North Maine, located in Smallville, North Maine, has a large online division. This online division has 750 adjunct faculty members who are all paid on an independent contract basis. (No Social Security or Federal Unemployment taxes or benefits are paid to adjunct faculty.) The contracts between faculty members and the university specify that the payment will be contract labor and that the faculty members are responsible for their own taxes. In recent years, however, the university has changed Deans and other management of the online division. The new administration is pushing hard to standardize the processes and teaching methods used by faculty and has started using Blackboard, a new course management system. Faculty are now required to use pre-designed courses developed on Blackboard and are instructed that they are not allowed to change anything within the course. In addition, the administration, after hearing that some faculty were not active in their classrooms, began monitoring activity levels and started a new policy that required faculty to log in to each classroom at a minimum of five days each week. If faculty members refuse to honor the new rules and procedures, they are told that new sections of the courses will not be awarded. Faculty members are also required to log in and post comments into a faculty portal where the new administration provides new rules and procedures that must be followed.

For discussion: Your task is to advise the university on its potential to be classified as an employer of faculty rather than its current practice of independent contract status with faculty. Critically examine the tax code, regulations, and case law to prepare your tax memo, which will later be used by your partner to develop a letter to the university. Your analysis must follow the practices outlined in the tax research chapter in your book and must provide history, current tax law, and your recommendations. Cite all references using APA format. Post your memo and then discuss the possibilities with your class.