The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2024 - 30

All ATA members who are
independent contractors should
learn more and take any needed
steps to help ensure they're
classified the way that makes sense
for them and how they work.
2
Investments by
the Worker and
the Potential Employer:
For example: Does the
contracting entity invest in
your business, and, if so, to
what extent (and are such
investments required for
you to accept work from
the contracting entity)?
Do you make meaningful
investments in your business
(new equipment, continuing
education, etc.)?
3
Degree of Permanence
of the Work
Relationship: For example:
Is it clear that you are working
under a contract with a
30 The ATA Chronicle | May/June 2024
defined duration and that
you may freely work for other
clients? Does the contracting
entity demand exclusivity?
Nature and Degree of
Control: For example:
Does the contracting entity
keep you from working for
other people, require that
you work certain hours, or
supervise your work? Do they
control how you manage your
time or your rates?
4
Extent to which the
Work Performed Is
an Integral Part of the
Potential Employer's
Business: For example: Is the
work you perform " critical,
necessary, or central " to the
contracting entity's business?
For T&I professionals, this
can be tricky, but remember
that this factor is not
necessarily determinative if
other factors are explicitly
met.
5
Skill and Initiative:
For example: Are you
using specialized skills to
" contribute to business-like
initiative? " Do you invest in
continuing education to grow
your skills, or do you rely
on the contracting entity to
provide all training?
Under this final rule, no
single factor is determinative,
and other factors may also
be applied. Any analysis by
an auditor would be based
on the " totality-of-thecircumstances
economic
reality approach, " which
means that the worker
or contracting entity
could present additional
information to help
determine whether the
worker is an independent
contractor. If a worker
depends on a single entity
for all their income (as
they would if they had an
employer), they will likely
not qualify as an independent
contractor under this rule.
6
What About the ABC
Test? Isn't That the One
We had to Worry About?
The ABC test is a state-level
test that has been enacted
or is being considered in
several states, and, yes, it has
caused significant problems
for many freelance language
services professionals.
California's passage of AB5 in
2020, which codified the ABC
test in state law, triggered
wide-reaching activism on
behalf of interpreters and
translators, many of whom
were erroneously classified
as employees rather than
independent contractors
under the ABC test. The
misclassification occurred
because the B prong of
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The ATA Chronicle - May/June 2024

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