Listen to the Collaboration Space to learn how enterprise video can help support diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the hybrid workplace.
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It truly is a tightrope walk doing business in California, especially if you engage independent contractors. Still, you don’t panic. Let’s talk about what makes California high risk (hint: worker classification tops the list), what’s at stake, and how businesses can protect themselves.
California is considered the riskiest of the risky states for doing business. The Golden State is often the first to legislate an issue surrounding employment and other states often follow suit with similar laws. Whether you do business in the state or not, what happens there will affect you in one way or another.
In addition to California’s worker classification rules (which are some of the most stringent in the country and where our focus will be today), California requires employers to walk a narrow path when it comes to sexual harassment training, privacy protections, meal wages, and more.
This is where California’s rules affect employers the most because it’s where it’s hardest for companies to classify workers as independent contractors. California’s approach to worker classification (among other topics) purportedly intend to protect workers and provide “the labor law protections to which they are entitled.” In addition to the federal legislation, states have free reign to make some of their own rules. True to form, California has some of the strictest requirements surrounding worker classification and it’s important for companies to pay attention because violators can expect to be subject to strict penalties such as fines, possible jail time, and damage to their reputations.
When California replaced the long-standing Borello test with the ABC test, it eliminated some of the gray area in deciding whether a worker is an employee or not. Workers can only be considered an independent contractor if all of the following apply:
(A) that the worker is free from the control and direction of the hiring entity in connection with the performance of the work, both under the contract for the performance of the work and in fact;
(B) that the worker performs work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business; and (C) that the worker is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, or business of the same nature as the work performed.
This is the narrowest definition of an independent contractor to date and puts more pressure on point “B” than ever before.
Whenever a government agency legislates an issue, it’s reasonable to ask what the stakes are and how much attention they’ll give it. In this case, there is a ton of money on the line. To date, determining the differences and properly classifying workers have been highly complicated tasks, depending on factors such as the ability to hire or fire a worker, the kind of occupation, the method of payment, location and more. According to the court’s ruling in the Dynamex case, “the misclassification of workers as independent contractors rather than employees is a very serious problem, depriving federal and state governments of billions of dollars in tax revenue.”
The government’s concerns center around the fact that:
Some employers like this way of structuring worker classification because in theory, it gives workers more ownership in the company’s success. Others say it makes their business model unsustainable.
It’s point “B” of the ABC test that can be most challenging to the way many businesses operate. It states that a worker must perform “work that is outside the usual course of the hiring entity’s business” to be classified as an independent contractor.
Some companies have restructured operations completely to avoid hiring more W2 employees (new laws have a way of precipitating new ways to get around said laws). Another way to avoid reclassifying is simply to operate business as usual and wait to be challenged. Smaller companies have been known to get away with this approach indefinitely.
Still, some independent contractors have been unhappy with the changes and expressed concern for their livelihood. Even if all the perks afforded an employee (healthcare, time off, etc.) bring them close to their original pay in practice, their paycheck may look a lot smaller on the surface. Many industries have been granted exemptions from the ruling, indicating that, as always, there is no simple cut and dry answer to an issue this complicated.
Independent contractors set their own schedule and manage their own businesses. While independent contractors are still responsible for paying taxes, they can also take advantage of many write-offs. Along with the perks, they do have the responsibilities that come with owning their own business. They run their own books, pay quarterly taxes, advertise, purchase their own equipment, and deal with the seasonal nature of the biz. Independent contractors also don’t get paid time off and are responsible for purchasing their own health insurance.
Some workers prefer the stability and possibility for advancement that come with having a greater presence at the office and familiarity with the ins and outs of the company.
Unless a company is made up 100% of full-time employees, this subject is relevant. Mistakes could result in fines, back taxes, and even jail time. The first step is to stay well on top of worker classification rules. There are exemptions to the ABC test and they continue to evolve. Independent contractors fall outside the wage order’s protections so even some “employees” could still potentially qualify as independent contractors for all other purposes. Stay on top of classification news and how these changes play out in practice will continue to shake out in the courts and in the market going forward. Stay ahead of the game to see how these changes affect your business. California is embarking on the real-time evolution of the economy.
Big companies like Uber make headlines for their missteps and pay equally big fines for their worker classification choices. Still, it can be a costly mistake to think it’s only the big companies that face consequences. By rescinding the Trump Administration’s “Worker Classification Rule,” the Biden administration made it easier for workers to argue for minimum wage and overtime protections/compensation. In addition to having to pay back 100% of the matching FICA taxes they would have paid had they classified the worker correctly up front, employers can end up subject to additional penalties such as the following:
Suffice to say, misclassifying workers does not save money in the long run. Perhaps scarier than the possibility of monetary damages, misclassification has landed some business leaders under house arrest.
In addition, class-action lawsuits, failed audits, and negative headlines can damage a company’s reputation to the point where both workers and consumers are hesitant to engage with the company. It’s just not worth it!
The most common mistakes when engaging contractors in California are misclassifying workers, (of course!), being lax about training requirements or privacy, and meal wage/overtime errors.
As the economic landscape shifts and independent contractors rise in prevalence, the financial stakes and potential for missed revenue rise, too. In response, government agencies have been ramping up their focus on the subject. The IRS and DOL are not alone. States are joining the fray, attempting to crack down on misclassification while tightening the reins on training requirements, and payroll guidelines.
Where the money goes, lawyers follow. There’s big money in class action lawsuits and new cases are always being filed. While fear is never productive, you should be very, very conscientious when engaging independent contractors in California. Companies must be very vigilant to protect your business, stay compliant, and reduce the risk for fines and unpleasant attention from the IRS.
Examine your options: Working with an Employer of Record (EOR) or Professional Employer Organization (PEO) is standard best practice in this evolving freelancer economy. While both provide payroll and insurance services, the differentiating factor is that an EOR relieves employers of much of the regulatory risk involved in working with independent contractors while a PEO operates as a co-employer and does not assume the employment risk.
If you don’t have the in-house team to do it yourself, it’s worth considering working with a partner. The bottom line is that doing business in California is complicated and the consequences of errors can be immense. While the onus is on employers to classify workers correctly and stay in line with the state’s changing requirements, it’s possible to navigate a rocky landscape with relative ease.
In our world, accurate worker classification and top-notch risk management when it comes to overtime, meal wage, and other laws are always the priority. We are the first to be aware when change is in the air. We track rules in every state as well as on a federal level and offer services to help clients stay compliant.
If you think a partner would help your business, contact us now.
The post Do You Engage Independent Contractors in California? Be Afraid. Be Very Afraid. appeared first on PayReel.
Several things hold organizations back from creating content, according to Lisa Gately, Principal Analyst at Forrester.
Siloed content
Lack of alignment on audience needs
Outdated manual processes or tools that don’t scale
Inability to see audience interactions across the full life cycle
Content management chaos
“These things are holding everybody back in this shift to a digital world,” said Gately during Brightcove’s PLAY Season 1. In her guest episode, she identifies the four major parts of the content life cycle and how to optimize them to overcome these hurdles.
Content Planning
Content planning is a foundational part of the content life cycle and should be a defined, repeatable approach across the organization. Gately observed, “In reality, this is not happening for most teams.”
In Forrester’s 2022 State of B2B Content Survey, Gately noted that almost half the respondents said they don’t have a defined approach. “That leads to a lot of siloed, reactive, ad hoc planning. It means things happen on a first-come, first-served basis, or maybe a very reactive basis, that they decide what content to put out in front of an audience.”
Marketers should approach content knowing not just what to say to the market, but knowing how audiences search for their products. “What do they call things? What did they use when they talk about issues and topics?” said Gately. This process helps marketers become very precise in their content recommendations: adjusting the content mix, knowing about past content performance, and being intentional about where future investments in content are going.
Practically, this means looking across the organization through the lens of a shared content inventory. “Is there existing content you can use? Could you get there faster? Could you reuse, customize some of the content that you have? Or think about repurposing it for some of those audiences?” asked Gately.
Content Production
“This is really the area when most people think about content,” said Gately. However, content production is more than just making content; it’s about smoothing out workflows and processes. “You’re building content with others, and you need it to go more smoothly.”
Furthermore, content is created everywhere, “whether it’s your content team, different parts of the organization, or the relationships you have with agencies and vendors, partners—even your customers,” explained Gately. Therefore, establishing repeatable processes is key.
Content Promotion
Creating content is exciting, but making sure it’s seen by the right people ensures the hard work is worthwhile. “Don’t leave content promotion to chance,” warned Gately. “We spend so much time thinking about the content we want to build, the creativity and expertise of creating the content, but we really need to focus on how it’s activated or promoted.”
To master this, Gately recommends that all marketers be prescriptive. “Think about this in terms of understanding your audience. It is knowing where they go for information, and what kinds of information they are looking for.”
The same applies for content for internal audiences as well. “When you make this content available to your internal audience, how are they going about getting this content? You want to make sure you tap into internal communications methods.”
Distribution is part of promotion too. Marketers should ask how certain content can be distributed easily for internal customer-facing stakeholders so that they can use it as quickly as possible.
“You want to make sure your analytics are right there. You want to notice who is using the content. And go back, take some extra effort. Notice how they set it up, how they customize it or serve it to the end audience,” explained Gately.
For both internal and external content, marketers need to make sure that they’re using tagging in metadata to best effect. “This is what helps you in noticing all those things from analytics.”
Content Operations
Content operations constitute the final stage of the content life cycle. “This is really an area that stands up to a big word like ‘transformation,’” said Gately. And as businesses begin acting more like media companies, this is a skill that sets them up for success. “I’m not understating it,” Gately continued. “Most marketers tell us this is the one area across the content life cycle where they want to get better.”
Gately says this is good news: “When you think about the power of content operations, that involves understanding what content you have, your use of metadata, taxonomy, the content technologies and processes in your organization, how you measure things. All of that is what sets you up for success.”
Emphasizing metadata, Gately added, “Master the metadata and taxonomy. That really is the key to the kingdom. This will help teams get a handle on content, its value, and whether they’re hitting business objectives with it.”
From there, Gately recommended streamlining workflows to make better use of what content a company does have. “Start talking about and rewarding teams for doing that,” she advised. And of course, invest in content operations, specifically by designating some leaders or dedicating resources to this. “They are going to help you build the competencies to go farther and faster.”
First things first: Happy retirement to PayReel’s founder and longtime CEO, Heidi McLean! While Heidi will continue supporting the company through its transition period, we are proud to announce that Todd Keener has stepped in to fill the role.
In combination with his previous experience, Todd’s 5-year tenure as COO at PayReel, and 5 years on PayReel’s board before that, have prepared him well.
Todd is a self-proclaimed geek with proven business acumen. He began his career by launching one of Colorado’s first internet service providers in 1993, growing it to one of the largest in the country, and ultimately selling it to publicly-traded RMI.
Todd’s diverse background has given him experience combining technology with leadership to meet the ever-evolving demands of today’s business world and he’s used his love for business strategy to help grow several companies including Arrival Telecommunications, 3C, and American DataBank.
In his new role as CEO, Todd will be focused on continuing to stay ahead of the game in security and privacy (which is especially important in this industry) as well as meeting changing demands/regulations through software developments and enhancements.
We look forward to continuing to serve you!
PayReel was founded with one goal in mind: To make it easy for companies to work with independent contractors and freelancers. As the employer/agent of record, PayReel absorbs much of the risk associated with engaging contingent workers. PayReel also streamlines the process and provides paperless onboarding while handling worker classification, compliance issues, employee payments and year-end tax filing and reporting. In short, PayReel is the closest thing to having an easy button for contingent workforce management.
The post Meet Our CEO, Todd Keener appeared first on PayReel.
We recently announced solid revenue results for our third fiscal quarter that exceeded our original revenue guidance. One of the product lines that contributed to this result was our object storage solution, ActiveScale.
INVESTING IN INNOVATION
Last spring, we introduced ActiveScale Cold Storage, a significant innovation for large-scale data archiving. Essentially, we were the first to introduce a low-cost S3 Glacier class of storage for the data center. ActiveScale is cloud object storage for your data center, and with the addition of its own cold Glacier-class tier, ActiveScale is the lowest cost, most secure, and greenest object storage platform in the world.
This innovation is perfect for any organization that needs to store and protect multiple Petabytes of data for many years. If your organization is managing at Petabyte-scale, we should talk. And if you are scaling from 10’s of Petabytes to 100’s of Petabytes or more, we should definitely talk. At massive scale, ActiveScale is a fraction of the cost of any other object storage system, consumes less power and cooling resulting in lower carbon emissions, and is the only object store that protects data on physically air-gapped storage with immutable object locking.
ADOPTION AT SCALE
In 2022, we had many large ActiveScale wins in industries including genomics, global semiconductor manufacturing, finance, and government agencies across the globe. Recently, a managed service provider has installed ActiveScale Cold Storage as the basis for cold storage services to their clients. Some of these organizations have well over 100 Petabytes of ActiveScale deployed and continue to expand their environments. They value the low acquisition and operational costs, and extreme availability, data protection and durability that ActiveScale provides.
INDUSTRY RECOGNITION
We’ve also been recognized for our object storage innovation by industry analysts, including:
for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage*It’s great to see the customer adoption, along with recognition from the industry. We are excited to carry this momentum into 2023.
More big stuff coming from Quantum in the first half of this year – stay tuned!
Gartner, Magic Quadrant for Distributed File Systems and Object Storage, Julia Palmer, Jerry Rozeman, et al.., 19 October 2022. Gartner and Magic Quadrant are registered trademarks of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and are used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner’s research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
The post Enterprise Object Storage Momentum Heading into 2023 appeared first on Quantum Blog.
Siân Heder’s second feature film shattered Oscar expectations in 2022. A story about a teenage girl’s search for independence as a child of deaf adults, “CODA” won Best Picture, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay.
In an exclusive interview with Brightcove, Siân walked us through her process for telling stories and why you should never compromise when bringing an authentic story to life.
To Heder, great stories transport a viewer: “What makes a great story is something that takes you outside of yourself into someone else’s experience. And different stories speak to you at different points in your life as well.” As a filmmaker, what you produce is a marker of where you are at that particular moment in your life. And that might be different 10 years later, or five years later.
Film, cinema, and storytelling are incredible tools for empathy. When Heder evaluates stories, she looks for something that speaks to a bigger conversation about our own humanity. “Not just something that sucks me in and lets me feel what the character’s feeling, but also something that allows me to look at my own experience of the world and reflect on that in a different way.”
Alongside this evaluation is a search for catharsis. “There’s a cathartic element for me in storytelling. I think it’s a way of exploring different parts of myself and my own lived experience, and doing that through engaging with someone else’s experience of the world,” explained Heder.
Some stories don’t get told immediately. Sometimes creators have to wait, whether it’s due to financing, internal politics, or another limiting factor. “There were a lot of ways that I wanted to make ‘CODA’ that were very important to me,” said Heder. “Having deaf actors play those roles, using ASL onscreen in a big way, having a lot of silence in the film, having subtitles so that I could really let ASL exist on screen in these scenes. Sometimes, the way that you make a thing and the intention with which you make something is as important as what you are making.”
When faced with a challenging story, creators can approach it this way: “All of filmmaking is problem-solving,” said Heder. “People do things in movies all the time. You blow up a building. You figure out how you’re going to pull something off. For ‘CODA,’ we thought, how is our set going to work? How are we going to communicate? How am I going to call ‘action’ and ‘cut’ in a way that supports my actors? And these problems aren’t any different than what it would take to do a stunt on set.”
In the streaming era, the old rules of distribution need not apply. “It’s been beautiful for this movie in particular, because the pandemic forced Sundance to go virtual,” explained Heder. “At the time it felt heartbreaking. We weren’t going to be in person, and I wasn’t going to get to sit in a theater and have this premiere. Well, so many people saw ‘CODA’ at Sundance through streaming. The fisherman whose boat we used and his big Italian family in Gloucester, Massachusetts, my parents and their friends, people in the disability community who might not be able to go to Sundance and get around in the snow. So streaming just opened up the movie to so many more people who got to participate in it and see it.”
Learn more in our PLAY episode, “From Great Stories to Best Picture: A Conversation With Siân Heder.”